Echoes
by notenoughpotter
Summary: Things have been calm in Mystic Falls for years. Damon and Elena have been peacefully raising their family in the town where they both grew up. But this is Mystic Falls. Things can change quickly…and never for the better. Sequel to "Bittersweet." (Not canon compliant)
1. Chapter 1

Claire sat on the overstuffed couch carefully holding the framed family portrait on her lap. Reagan leaned in close as Claire's chubby finger pointed out each child sitting on the rock ledge. Elena and Damon's oldest daughter spoke to her cousin with five-year-old self-confidence. "Jackson. Kennedy. Madison. You. Me." She jabbed each face in the portrait in turn during the game of _who's who _that only the extended Gilbert family could provide.

Jenna turned to the pair and tried not to laugh. At times like this, with her somber forehead knit in concentration, it was an easy reminder of exactly who her father was.

Claire frowned, giving an exaggerated sigh. She'd been doing well identifying all the cousins, siblings, and almost-family members until she hit the back row. Jenna didn't blame her for the pause.

Two photos had her stumped, though. Claire's finger slid to the two nearly-identical toddlers standing behind the row of older cousins. She leaned in close and blinked at the small black haired boy with vivid blue eyes. They were the almost-twins in the family – only separated by a few months in age.

Finally, she broke into a grin. She'd figured it out. "Blue eyes. Braydon." Then she tapped the boy with black hair and brown eyes. Her little brother was the spitting image of his father.

"Brown eyes. Grayson." Jeremy's son could easily have passed for a member of Elena's brood. And since that brood was ever-growing, Damon and Elena likely wouldn't have noticed if another little one ended up at their house.

Her mission completed, Claire handed the picture to her cousin. "That's everyone. Your turn."

Reagan blinked back at Claire. The task of identifying each member of the crew seemed to overwhelm Jenna's middle daughter.

"I don't think she's quite ready for that yet, Claire." Jenna leaned down and took the picture from her three-year-old daughter's hands. "Maybe next year."

"But then there will be even more of us." Claire looked earnestly back at her aunt. Her long brown eyelashes curled against her cheeks.

"I sincerely hope not. Well, not other than the ones we already know about." Jenna circled the couch and studied Claire's appearance - not perfect, but it would have to do. "Ok everybody. Let's go!"

Claire hopped off the couch and froze. "Will Mommy pick me up after school?" The first hint of tears pooled at the corner of the typically cheerful little one's eyes. Up until now, she'd handled the hurried overnight hand-off like a champ, but her brave façade was cracking.

"Probably not your mom." Jenna forced a smile. If Elena showed up at pre-school pick-up today, Jenna would likely kill her almost-daughter. "But your dad should be there."

"But Daddy?" Claire twirled a finger around the hem of her red and white peppermint-striped shirt.

"Your Daddy should…" Jenna's answer was interrupted by the ringing telephone. She glanced at the caller ID. Mystic Fall's General Hospital. Damn, Damon said Elena should be headed home by now.

A string of not-toddler-safe words desperately wanted to escape her lips. She ducked into the kitchen, motioning for the girls to stay in the living room. "Hello." At Damon's grim tone, she worked harder to force a cheerful expression in the midst of words like _failing heartbeat, prepping for emergency c-section, _and _the doctor's hopeful.._. She gripped the side of the counter for support. Why couldn't he have called after she dropped the girls off?

"Mom?" Jackson obviously had inherited something from Mystic Falls' mystical past. He was almost psychic. "What's wrong?"

Kennedy thudded down the stairs just in time to catch the change in mood. "Mom?"

"Everything's fine." Jenna shot a meaningful glance at the younger girls. She prayed her two older kids wouldn't freak the little ones out. Right now, Jenna was freaked out enough for all of them.

"We're going to be late for school." Kennedy chewed her lower lip.

"Crap." Jenna looked at her watch and flinched. "Backpacks... lunchboxes... Christmas presents?" She surveyed the cluster of children standing in front of her.

"Mom, can I please stay and just ride the bus?" Jackson pulled his backpack onto one shoulder as he picked up the brown paper sack of party supplies. "It comes before Dad leaves." He looked at the younger girls assembled in the foyer. "Please don't make me ride with all of them."

Normally Jenna wouldn't have Claire in tow during the school run, but today was...unexpected.

Elena and Damon seriously owed her. Of course, they hadn't exactly been planning on being out of pocket today.

"It'll help you get to school on time." Jackson raised an eyebrow and grinned.

_Damn. _That boy did spend too much time with Damon.

"Alright." She nodded in surrender. "Ric?" Jenna called up the stairs. "I'm leaving Jackson here with you. Make sure he gets on the bus!"

"What?" Alaric stepped out of the bedroom.

"I'm leaving Jackson here. If he misses the bus, you're on your own." Jenna handed a bag of Christmas gifts to Madison. "Carry those for me to the car. Ok, let's go!" She counted heads as the girls stepped into the light snowfall on their way to the minivan.

* * *

The phone buzzed in Damon's pocket and woke him up. Rubbing his bloodshot eyes, he slowly stood and walked quietly from the darkened room. He'd lost track of night and day. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been here by now.

After Elena saw the trickle of blood streaming down her leg, everything just became a blur. They'd tossed Claire and Braydon in the car, depositing them with Jenna and Ric and Jeremy and Hannah, but telling neither couple how grave the situation was.

The twins were due at Valentine's Day. This was far too early. He'd held onto Elena's sweaty palm the entire drive, making promises he definitely couldn't keep.

The gray light filtering through the window was obscured by the clumps of snow clinging to the window. Was it dawn or sunset? Christ, it had been a long day.

He had just enough time to glance at the text message and make his way to the elevator just before it chimed and opened.

"Daddy!" Claire barreled into his arms. She grinned widely as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Claire-bear." He scooped her up and studied her appearance. His pink and blue wristbands tangled together as they slid down his arm. Thankfully, whoever helped Claire dress put the right pieces of the Christmas outfit together. "Were you good for Aunt Jenna and Uncle Ric?"

Claire's head bobbed earnestly up and down. Her pigtails were a mess, just like they normally were after a hard day of preschool. That little boy must have been tugging them again. If he weren't so tired right now, he'd be on the phone with his neighbors to discuss their son's behavior. "Did you let Madison sleep last night?"

Her eyes widened as she shook her head no.

"You didn't?"

"I was in Reagan's room." She whispered into his ear.

"Oh." He laughed at his very literal daughter. He corrected himself. "Did you let Reagan sleep?"

"She was great, as always." Jenna held tightly to Reagan's hand. Elena's aunt looked as worried as he imagined he must have. "How is?" She nodded down the hospital corridor, obviously not wanting to worry the little girls.

"Everybody's fine. Really." Damon hadn't realized just how relieved he was that the words were true.

"Elena?"

"They've had some trouble getting Elena's pain medicine right. She's still pretty uncomfortable. She hasn't slept yet, but she keeps asking about this one." Damon lowered Claire to the ground and she wrapped her hand around his fingers.

"We had a Christmas party today, Daddy."

"Christmas party..." Damon flinched. "Presents for the teachers."

"Already taken care of. They were in Claire's bag - along with her snacks for the party and the gift for the exchange with her classmates." Jenna laughed. "Your wife plans ahead." She squinted as she stared at the nursery in the distance. "I think she may have known something wasn't right. She wasn't feeling well yesterday."

Her words confirmed Damon's suspicions. Elena had seemed a little…off during dinner. And yet, she'd pretended like everything was just fine. They'd have to talk about that – later.

Damon led the group to the oversized window. "Back there." He pointed to a tiny blue bundle in an incubator. His jaw tightened slightly as he watched the tiny chest rise and fall. "There's your brother Nathan…" He tried to keep his voice light, but Jenna's worried look said he wasn't doing a good enough job of convincing everyone that they were out of the woods.

"But where's Emma? Two, Daddy." She held her fingers in front of her.

"Let's go see your mom." He ignored Claire's question and turned back to Jenna, leaving Reagan with her in the hall. "We won't be long."

They walked down the corridor until they came to the room at the farthest end of the hallway. When they were safely out of Jenna's view, he knelt down next to Claire. "First, I've got to fix this before your mom sees you." He pulled her uneven pigtails out of her hair. "Who did your hair this morning, Uncle Ric?"

Claire shook her head. "Jenna."

"Maybe we should let Uncle Ric try next time." He ran his fingers through her sandy brown hair and coaxed it back up. "No curls, but at least it's even now." He straightened the red and green bows trying not to make the jingle bells ring too loudly. "Your mom was finally asleep when I left, so you know what that means, right?"

"Shhh!" Claire held her index finger to her lips.

"Right, shhhh!" He hesitantly opened the door and stepped into the room. Claire tiptoed to her mother's bedside.

"You were right, Mommy's asleep!" Claire whispered loudly.

Elena's eyes cracked open. "I wasn't asleep, Sweetie."

"Liar." Damon reached down and helped her position the pillows behind her back. He leaned down and kissed her still-damp hair.

She flinched as she used one arm to push herself higher in the bed. "Come on up." She patted the side of the bed.

As Claire took her place on the side of the bed, her attention immediately went to the tiny pink bundle in the incubator at Elena's bedside. Elena reached out but took a sharp breath as she grimaced. "Can you get her?" She looked up at Damon who was already walking around the bed. He placed the bundle into his wife's waiting arms. "Claire, this is Emma."

Claire's brow furrowed as her deep green eyes looked intently at her sister. "She's tiny."

"The twins were in a hurry to get here." Elena gently stroked the baby's dark brown hair. "You look so cute. Do you like your jingle bells?"

Claire grinned and nodded so Elena could hear the bells.

"I thought you'd like those." Elena twirled one of Claire's pigtails around her finger to curl it. "Is Jenna here?"

Damon nodded as he watched Elena fight to keep her eyes open. From the drawn look on her face, he could tell she was ready for her next dose of pain medicine, but she was avoiding taking it because of Claire's visit. They'd worked too hard to get her comfortable after the unexpected surgery to let her go too long without the medicine now. He clicked the button for her - drawing a glare from Elena. "Every 8 minutes." He gave the button a pointed look. "Jenna's outside with Reagan. They're visiting with Nathan."

"How is he?" Elena looked at the clock and realized how long she'd been asleep.

"He's fine." Damon stroked her arm. "They just have him on a little oxygen." Elena didn't look convinced. "Really." He squeezed her hand. "He's as stubborn as his mom."

"Is Braydon coming?"

"Probably not the best idea. Out of sight...out of mind. Hannah said he's doing fine. I already talked to her this morning. In fact, she asked if she could keep him for the rest of the week." He laughed. "Apparently, he's keeping Grayson entertained."

"That's good." Elena's words slurred as the pain medicine kicked back in. She was rapidly loosing the battle with her eyelids.

"Come on, Claire. Don't want to be late for dinner." He hoisted Claire off the side of the bed. "Let's let Aunt Jenna and Reagan see Emma." He carefully cradled the tiniest of his children in his arms. She might have been small, but she was a definite fighter. The doctors hadn't been able to find anything at all they were concerned with except for her size. "I'll be right back." He brushed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere." She gave a half smile as she waved at Claire. "Tell your teachers Merry Christmas."

"But I won't see them until after Christmas…"

"It's okay." Damon whispered into her ear. "Mommy doesn't know what time it is." Damon held Emma in one arm as he held Claire's hand with the other.

"Oh, she's so tiny." Jenna peeked into the blankets.

"Four pounds, five ounces." Damon agreed.

"I still can't believe you two had twins." Jenna shook her head as she stroked the back of Emma's hand.

Damon's eyes flashed. "What can I say?" He knelt next to Reagan to give her a better look at her newest cousin.

Jenna frowned and shook her head. "For my Christmas present...just promise me you'll keep your hands off my niece for a while."

"You're going to have to talk to Elena about that." Damon grinned wickedly. He glanced at his watch. "You three need to get going."

"Let me keep Claire another night. She's not any trouble. Elena packed enough clothes for her to stay for a week." Jenna reached for Claire's hand. "We're making Christmas cookies tonight."

Claire hopped up and down. "With sprinkles?"

"Is there any other way to make them?" Jenna looked hopefully at Damon. "Really, I don't mind. That way you can stay here with Elena another night. When will she get to go home?"

"Three more days, but the babies...they might stay a few days longer."

"What about Christmas?" Claire looked up in fright.

"We'll be home by Christmas. I promise. Even if Emma and Nathan have to stay, you'll be in your bed on Christmas Eve. Thanks, Jenna." Damon waved as Jenna, Reagan, and Claire stepped into the elevator. He turned and walked back to the hospital room - not surprised to find Elena sound asleep.

"Mr. Salvatore?" A nurse was waiting in the room and walked to Damon's side. "Time for me to take this little girl back to the nursery." She took Emma from Damon's arms. "If I were you, I'd take this chance to sleep too. With two little ones, you're not going to be getting much sleep for a while." She laughed softly. "You're going to be a very busy man."

"I don't mind one bit." Damon yawned as he folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I'm not trying to up my read count, but if you haven't read "Bittersweet," this story isn't going to make any sense - or at least large sections of it won't. I've been told that "Bittersweet" was pretty enjoyable, and it was my favorite story I've ever written, so please...save yourself some confusion. Read that one first.

Rating: M - adult content, violence, mild language, sensitive topic

Because you asked for it (and because there's a herd of them)….here's a handy-dandy "kid" reference.

**If the kids are named after US presidents, they belong to Ric and Jenna.**

-Jackson (17)

-Kennedy (14 ish)

-Reagan (9)

-Madison (7)

**Kids whose names start with a G are Jeremy and Hannah's.**

-Grayson (7)

**Damon and Elena's brood:**

-Claire (9) – technically, she's Stefan and Elena's, but she's really Damon's now

-Brayden (7)

-Nathan (5), and Emma (5) – twins at the end of "Bittersweet"

**There's a random one in here who belongs to Bonnie…I honestly can't remember the little one's name right now. (This is what happens when a writer comes back to a story 3+ years after it was written.) Sorry.**

* * *

Damon reached out and switched off the alarm. Setting it had seemed like such a brilliant idea six hours earlier, but that was before Elena had decided to stay up to finish one more paragraph which quickly turned into one last chapter….which must have turned into two. When she was in full-writer-mode it was dangerous to interrupt her. He'd learned that the hard way.

So he'd finally stopped waiting for her at midnight, setting the alarm to celebrate this book finally being back on track. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

But now he wasn't so sure. Every pore in his body screamed out for just another couple of hours' worth of sleep. Shifting in place, he adjusted his pillow and caught sight of Elena. Her hair was fanned out on the cream cotton pillowcase, and her long were firmly closed.

_Damn. _A certain part of his body was definitely wide-awake now. And it was trying to bring the rest of him along for the ride.

No matter how hard she was trying to convince him otherwise, Elena wasn't asleep. If years spent sharing the same bed with her had taught him anything, he could tell if she was really asleep just by listening to the pattern of her breathing.

She was awake.

Wide awake.

And judging by the way her breathing caught in her chest every time he moved the slightest bit, no matter how much she was trying to convince him otherwise, she was thinking the same thing he was.

_God, he loved his wife._

Damon rolled onto his side as he draped his arm across Elena's chest. He delicately ran his fingertips along her shoulder. Her breathing stopped completely as a shiver ran through her entire body.

It had been _far _too long since they'd had a moment like this.

At least three weeks. Even for someone formerly a vampire…that was forever.

"Really? You forgot to turn off the alarm?" Elena cracked one eye open as she tried to focus on the alarm clock on her husband's bedside table. "Today's Saturday. For the first time this season, the soccer game isn't till noon." She looked at him with his favorite grumpy glare.

Damon caressed his wife's shoulder as he reached beneath her nightgown, teasing the hint of a sleeve off her shoulder, exposing the delicate skin he craved. He kissed up along her jawline. "Who says it was a mistake?" He whispered into her ear as he pressed the length of his body against her side.

He pressed the evidence of his desire into her hip, earning a half-annoyed-half-aroused laugh. She reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair. "So you planned this?" Her lips drew up in the barest hint of a smile.

He'd won the battle.

He'd take sex over sleep any time.

"Mmm hmmm." His answer was almost a growl as he nipped at the base of her throat. His hand dipped lower on her chest until he was cupping her breast. "I missed you." She'd been gone to a charity fundraiser for the last three days, only arriving home the night before, and it had seemed as if she'd been gone for a month. He peeled the hem of her nightgown up around her hips. No panties. She was feeling brave last night.

"I was only gone two nights." She rolled onto her side and sought out his lips. She slid her hand down his back. Her fingertips toyed with the band of his boxer shorts. Relaxing into his kiss, she slid her tongue over his lips.

He reached beneath the hem of her gown and began to tease it over her head as he broke their kiss. "That was more than long enough." He slid his hand down the smooth skin of her exposed stomach. In a well-practiced move, he had his boxers off his hips and off his legs before she even had a chance to protest.

"Umm...no." She pulled at his wrist. "We can't."

"I beg to differ." He used his sexiest voice…the one she loved…the one she never turned down. He slid farther down in the bed and kissed her shoulder before he began to trail kisses lower and lower, making his way to the point of no return.

She pulled back and trailed a finger under his chin. "Really...we can't."

He knew what she was hinting. Claire and Brayden had passed their strep throat onto her two weeks ago. She'd just come off the antibiotics a few days earlier. Antibiotics interfering with birth control might be an old wive's tale….but they had proof in the two youngest members of the family.

He settled between her thighs, and he could tell she was almost beyond the point of resisting, but she gave it her best shot. "This is how we ended up with the twins."

He looked into her eyes with the stare that made her melt. "I'm willing to take the risk." His lips tentatively tasted her most delicate area, and she surrendered to him. Her back arched as she groaned into his touch.

It had been far, far too long.

"Dad?" The bedroom door creaked open. Claire stepped in with her eyes tightly closed. She'd once entered the room without knocking, and she'd vowed never to do it again. "Uncle Ric called. I, um, told him I thought you were busy." She'd always been a notoriously early riser. Apparently this morning was no exception.

Elena tugged the sheet up over her shoulders as Damon reached for his boxer shorts. "Thanks, Claire. I'll be right there." He waited for their oldest daughter to leave the room before he turned his attention back to his wife. He gazed down at her with a hungry smile. "Later." His lips met Elena's for a lingering kiss before he reluctantly pulled away.

He stepped into the hallway and took the cell phone from Claire's hand. "Why don't you go downstairs and watch television? You're up first. You can pick." He tousled her sandy brown hair and was rewarded by Claire rolling her brilliant green eyes at him.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. I heard your cell phone ringing." Her brow furrowed with concern. Damon smiled widely. She was definitely his brother's child. Not a day went by that he didn't see an echo of his brother in her.

"Your mom and I were already awake." He kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it." He leaned against the decorative table in the hallway outside his bedroom and looked at his phone. Three missed calls from Alaric already this morning? He dialed the number. "Ric! Please don't tell me they moved the game..."

Damon watched as the players in their deep blue uniforms ran back and forth on the soccer field. Since the game was rescheduled at the last minute, each team was short multiple players. Play was supposed to begin in 10 minutes, and they were still missing four players. He glanced down at his watch wondering if they were going to have to forfeit.

"Busy, huh? At six in the morning..." Alaric came to stand next to Damon and held out a paper coffee cup. Alaric wasn't even trying to hide his smirk.

Damon took the offered cup and winced as he took the first sip. "I was busy with your stepdaughter. Do you really want to go there?"

"Not really." Alaric shook his head.

"Why'd they reschedule the game?" Damon sighed in relief as two more of their players jogged onto the field. Jackson waved the boy and girl over to the rest of the team as he helped take the herd of seven year olds through their warm-up routine. "Weather?"

Alaric looked at the gray clouds already building on the horizon. They'd already had to reschedule almost half the teams' games because of the unusually stormy season. The commissioner had called all the head coaches the night before to let them know they would try to get as many games in as possible on Saturday - even if that meant starting the games at 7:30. Somehow, the Rebels were one of the teams chosen for that earliest slot. "Yep." A roll of thunder echoed in the distance. "We'll be lucky to get our game in." He turned back and looked over his shoulder at the family members seated in folding chairs behind the team. Elena eyed the clouds as she she fussed over Emma's braid. "She getting any better with storms?"

"Some." Damon blew on his coffee and turned back to look at his wife. She gave a weak smile and nodded in answer to his unspoken question. "I've only found them in the shelter twice this season."

The referee waved at Alaric and Damon to signal he was ready to start the game. "Alright, let's go." Alaric motioned for his young players to take their positions on the field. Braydon and Reagan stood side by side on one side of the field while Grayson took the center position for the Cardinals. Just as the referee blew his whistle, Reagan stuck her tongue out to taunt her cousin on the opposing team.

Damon couldn't hide his amusement. He started to laugh and looked at Alaric, "That would be your daughter."

Alaric looked from his daughter to the coach of the opposing team. "Sorry Jeremy. We'll talk about it when we get home."

Damon pulled the blanket up beneath Emma's chin as he bent to kiss his youngest daughter's head. "Night, sweetheart," he whispered as he closed her bedroom door. He clicked the hall light on as he passed by on the way to his bedroom.

It had been a very long afternoon. The predicted storms seemed to never end. When a particularly fierce burst of wind broke a tree limb down the street and knocked the power out for their neighborhood, they'd been forced to play Twister by candlelight. Well, most of the family played. Claire sat with her feet tucked under her on the couch while she pretended to read. Somehow she'd inherited her mother's fear of storms. He couldn't really blame her. She knew the story of how she'd lost her father.

Thankfully, the storms passed before night fell. Looking outside after the rain passed, they'd been spared much damage, but he would be raking leaves for the better part of the next day.

He smiled to himself as he heard Elena turn the bathwater off and turn on the jets to the bathtub. He'd handled bedtime duties, just as he did every night he wasn't occupied with town business. Thankfully, everything was peaceful in Mystic Falls now. They hadn't had an emergency council meeting since the tornado. All things supernatural seemed to have forgotten about his town.

Vampires. Werewolves. Witches. They were out there. But now they were leaving his famiy…and his town alone.

And that was just how he liked it.

He pushed open the door to their bedroom, and the scent of Elena's favorite lavender bubble bath greeted him. Turning off the bright overhead light, he was pleased to see she'd already lit a candle. "Everybody's asleep."

Elena looked up at him doubtfully. The thick foam from the bubbles hid everything interesting from his view. "Everybody?"

"As far as I could tell. Brayden was out before I finished reading Nathan his book. You know he always crashes after a game." Damon took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. He smiled expectantly at his wife.

"What are you smiling at?" Elena slid deeper into the water.

"I don't know..." He did his eye thing in her direction. "Candles...bubbles...a little less water than you normally run. Looks like you might be expecting something."

"And what would I be expecting?" Even the flickering glow of the candle couldn't hide the soft flush that had come over her cheeks. She licked her lips and shifted to one side of the oversized tub.

That was all the invitation Damon needed. His discarded clothing joined hers at the side of the tub.

"Did you mean it?" Elena leaned against Damon's chest. The bubbles piled around them and almost reached her chin.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Mean what?" Pushing her hair over her shoulder, he kissed the nape of her neck.

"This morning... When you said you didn't mind the risk." Her expression was serious as she ran her hand down his leg.

"Very much." One hand trailed down and came to rest on her thigh. The other found a different place to rest.

"But what if?" She couldn't even bring herself to voice the question.

He knew what she was asking. "Elena, growing up, my best friend came from a family of 12." He pulled back so he could look her in the eyes.

"Your best friend grew up on a plantation."

"Well, there is that." He conceded. He stroked her cheek and left a trail of bubbles. "If something happened, and we had another baby, I'd be the happiest man in the world. They're each part of us. They're here because I'm in love with you." His eyes burned with sincerity mixed with desire. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and his lips crashed against hers.

* * *

For those who've asked (and may have skipped the earlier author's note), I've included a kid reference guide in the author's note.


	3. Chapter 3

Ratings: M - adult content - no smut but it is adult, sensitive subject matter, language

* * *

Caroline's car pulled to a stop in front of the Saltzman house just as Damon and Elena arrived with their family.

"Hold it." Damon turned back and looked at Claire and Brayden. "You two help unload." He put the SUV in park and walked to the back of the vehicle. "Be careful with this unless you don't want dessert."

Braydon reached out and took the tray of brownies. After a close call, he steadied the tray and headed up the sidewalk toward the porch.

Damon tested the weight of a bag. "I think you'll be okay with this." He handed the paper sack to Claire. "Look out!" His warning barely came in time for Elena to turn around.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Ainsley hopped out of the car and barreled into Elena.

"Oh, you can't be Ainsley..." Elena teased as she hoisted her goddaughter onto her hip as she turned to wave at Caroline. She studied the blonde little girl's orange and brown checked dress. "Did you have a good birthday?"

Ainsley nodded and her curled pigtails bobbed up and down. Elena knelt down and sat her on the ground.

"That was one of Emma's favorite dresses." Elena wrapped Caroline in a one-armed hug as she walked to the back of her car to help unload the side dishes. "I'm glad it fits."

"She was so excited when an Aunt Elena box came." Caroline paused and waited for Craig to walk up the sidewalk. She looked down at the baby carrier at his side and adjusted the blue blanket.

Elena peeked over the casserole dish in her hands. "Landon's gotten so big." She studied the dark haired boy's sleeping form. "Happy Thanksgiving, Craig. We're thrilled to have y'all in town for a few days." She turned back to Caroline. "Where's your mom?"

"She's coming. She just drove her own car. We all don't fit in this one."

"I know the feeling." Damon nodded to Caroline as he carried the roasting pan. "Emma, come on." He stepped back to wait for his daughter to walk in front of him. Her deep brown ponytail bounced as she skipped up the stone path.

The front door opened to reveal a frazzled-looking Jenna. "Happy Thanksgiving." Her smile was a little too wide as she stepped back to let the group inside.

"Why it's Elena and Stephen." Alaric's mother came into view.

"Hello Mother Saltzman." Elena forced a smile. "Remember, my husband's name is Damon."

"Oh that's right." She gave a condescending smile. "Stephen was his brother. Your first husband. The one who died." She looked pointedly at Claire.

Damon stepped closer to her on the way to the kitchen. "Actually, my brother's name was _Stefan_." He nodded for Claire to follow him. He reached down and placed his hand on Claire's shoulder. "Be polite, but don't listen to her. You okay?"

Claire nodded somberly, not convincing anyone in the room that she was alright.

"Why don't you go upstairs and make sure the little guys don't destroy the playroom?" He smiled down at her. "I'll even let you skip clean up duty."

"It's a deal." She smiled back at him.

Elena caught Jenna's arm as Claire stepped out of the kitchen. She rounded on her aunt. "Why didn't you tell us she was going to be here?"

"Would you have come?" Jenna frowned. "Look, I didn't know she was coming until last night. She was supposed to be going to her sister's house, but her sister cancelled at the last minute."

"Wonder why?" Elena rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't turn her away. Especially when she just kind of showed up." Jenna pushed her hair back over her ear. She took a deep breath - the conflict evident on her face. "She's ninety. This could be our last Thanksgiving with her."

"We'd never be that lucky." Elena muttered under her breath.

"If she says _anything_ else to Claire..." Damon's voice had a hint of his past.

"She won't. I'll have Ric talk to her." Jenna leaned to the side and looked into the foyer. Caroline was keeping Mother Saltzman occupied.

"Where is Ric?" Damon looked into the backyard. The boys and Reagan were clustered around Jackson as they played a game of four-on-one soccer. Reagan and Grayson ran toward each other and exchanged a high five as they prevented their oldest cousin from scoring a goal.

"He and Jeremy ran up to the school to borrow some folding tables and chairs. They should be back any minute." She turned around and picked up a stack of paper plates. They'd given up on real plates and glasses six kids ago. Jeremy's truck pulled into the driveway. "There they are."

Damon took a deep breath. "I think I'll go help them unload."

Elena nodded to her husband as she walked across the kitchen to check on the turkey in the oven. Somehow, she had an idea that her husband wasn't simply helping Alaric and her brother with the tables.

* * *

"Hey Damon!" Jeremy tugged a table out of the back of his truck. "Why didn't Jenna ask us to do this yesterday...when it wasn't below freezing?"

"Were you _here_ yesterday?" Alaric slid a chair to the ground.

"No." Jeremy shook his head. "But Damon was."

Damon stepped between the other two men and tugged at a table. "We need to talk." He looked pointedly at Alaric.

"Don't tell me. My mom?" After all their years of friendship, Alaric knew better than to beat around the bush. He rubbed the stubble on his chin. "What did she do now?"

"She called me Stefan."

Jeremy winced at Damon's comment.

"And she did it right in front of Claire."

"Oh." Alaric's face fell. He leaned against the back of the truck, clearly uncomfortable. "Damon," he pursed his lips, "she may honestly have thought you were Stefan."

"What are you talking about?"

Alaric shook his head. "Jenna and I have noticed it for the last couple of her visits." He ran his hand over his forehead. "We haven't really said anything, but something's not right with her. She keeps thinking Reagan is Kennedy...and Kennedy's a babysitter."

"Oh that sucks." Jeremy frowned.

"She really hadn't told us she was coming. She just showed up, but she was convinced she called us." He paused. "I'm sorry for what she said in front of Claire. Want me to talk to her?"

"No." Damon took a deep breath. It was so much easier to just dislike someone, but he could hardly blame the woman if she was truly confused. "I'll go explain to Claire."

* * *

"Ahhh..." Jenna settled on the edge of the couch, a glass of wine in her hand. They'd gotten the act of celebrating holidays with this brood down to a science, but it was still a relief when the late lunch was over and everything was cleaned up. The dads and most of the kids were outside playing their yearly game of touch football. Landon and Gabby were sound asleep - sprawled across the bed in the master bedroom. Best of all, Mother Saltzman snored softly from her place on the recliner. Jenna studied the other women in the room and smiled.

"What's that look for?" Hannah looked at Jenna in confusion.

Jenna pursed her lips and laughed. "Everyone's drinking." She motioned with her glass of wine. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

"What?" Caroline turned to Elena for an explanation.

Elena laughed. "This is normally the part of the gathering when someone announces they're pregnant."

"Oh no." Caroline shook her head vigorously. "That's no longer possible."

"Since when?"

Caroline's cheeks flushed pink. "Since Craig visited the doctor a few weeks ago."

"So that's why he's on cheerleader duty?"

"Exactly."

"Well, since we're obviously safe on that front...I have an announcement to make." Jenna leaned forward in her seat. "Jackson got his acceptance letter on Monday."

"To where?" Hannah swirled her glass.

"Duke." She smiled proudly. "Ric's beyond pleased. With a full scholarship no less."

"That's great news." Hannah stood quickly when she heard Gabby beginning to stir. She hurried out of the room to keep her daughter from waking Landon.

"He signs the papers next week." Jenna finished off her drink.

"I still can't believe he's graduating this year." Elena shook her head. "It seems like I was just babysitting him yesterday."

"I think he was babysitting your kids yesterday." Jenna laughed - a wistful expression on her face. "It is hard to believe he'll be gone next year." She bit her lip and sighed.

"But he'll be home for Thanksgiving. And Duke isn't too far away." Elena wrapped her arm around Jenna's shoulder.

"I know." Jenna nodded.

"Aunt Jenna?" Claire stepped into the room - her cheeks flushed red from the cold. Kennedy followed closely behind her.

"Need something?" Jenna spun in her seat.

"I have a homework project for Mrs. Outlaw's class. I have to do a family history. Kennedy said you have a lot of old albums."

"_That_ would be an understatement." Kennedy laughed.

"Well, that's what you said." Claire frowned at Kennedy.

"No, I mean you should see everything down in the basement. Someone in the family must have been obsessed." Kennedy rolled her eyes.

Jenna nodded. "Yep. There definitely are a lot of albums down there. Comes with the territory when you're a member of the Founders. Kennedy, didn't you do that project when you were in her class?"

"Mmm hmmm. That's what we were talking about. Want me to help her find the right albums?"

"That would be great. Thanks, Kennedy." Elena smiled at her niece's retreating form. For a moment she wondered if she should follow them into the basement, but she was confident that all of the Mystic Falls' secrets were safely hidden away.

* * *

"You really okay?" Damon walked into Claire's room and sat at the foot of her bed. She was tucked into her blankets with a book leaned against her knees, but she was staring at the ceiling.

"Uh huh." Claire nodded.

Damon tilted his head and looked sincerely at her. "You sure?"

Claire chewed her lip and tugged at the charm on her necklace. "Why did Grandma Saltzman call you that?"

"You remember what I said earlier. She's a little confused now. It happens sometimes when people get older." He frowned. "But it still bothered you, though, when she called me your dad's name?"

"It was just weird when she called you Stefan."

Damon nodded. "He was your dad too."

Claire frowned and toyed with the fringe of her blanket. "I'd never tell Mom this." The look in her eyes betrayed her nerves. "But sometimes it doesn't feel that way. I know he was my dad. I don't really thinking of him like that. I mean, I never even met him."

"I know." He placed his hand on her knee. "And that makes me sad."

"It does? Why?"

"Your dad was a good man...better than me for a very long time. He loved your mom more than anything else in the world." He picked up Claire's book and placed it on the bed. "And he would have loved you just as much. He would have loved to be here with you."

"You think so?"

"I know so." He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Don't ever be afraid to talk to me about this. I'm always here for you. Understand?"

"I understand."

He handed her book back to her. "You going to sleep soon?"

"I just want to finish this chapter. I want to know how it ends."

Damon laughed as he stood up. "You know you could just ask your mom. She's kind of the expert since it's her book."

"I know, but it's more fun this way. And she never tells me the end, even if I ask."

"Night, Claire. Sleep well."

She didn't lift her eyes from the page. "Night, Dad."

Damon peeked into the boys' room as he walked down the hall. He shook his head as he leaned over Nathan's bed and gently tugged his glasses off before placing them on the bedside table. Just like every other night, Braydon had kicked all his blankets off and his legs were dangling over the edge. Damon cautiously adjusted his son's position in bed and tugged the blankets back up over his legs. He walked back into the hallway and passed Elena's office. She sat behind her desk, her favorite purple pen clenched between her teeth. "You coming to bed soon?"

"In a minute."

"You're really working on Thanksgiving?" He leaned in the doorway.

"Just trying to fix this section of dialogue. Something sounds a little off." She mumbled to herself as she read the section of the story aloud.

Damon stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He pressed a kiss into her hair and leaned into her back.

"You're not going to let me finish, are you?"

"You never write well when you're tense."

"Who said I'm tense?" She leaned back and blinked up at him.

Damon massaged her shoulders. "You didn't have to." He spun her chair around so she was facing him. He knelt in front of her and brought his lips to hers. "I know you too well."

Elena stood and hooked her fingers into his belt loops. She surrendered to the feeling of his lips on hers.

"I think we should take this somewhere a little more private." He ran his fingers down her side.

"You think so?"

His voice husky, he did his eye thing at her. "I do." Her fingers entwined with his as they stepped into the privacy of their bedroom. He ran his fingers through her hair as he pulled her closer to him. He slid his hands down her back and toyed with the hem of her blouse. He didn't want to rush her, but after the emotions of the day, they both needed a release that only coming together could provide.

He opened his eyes and looked down into hers. Her cheeks flushed with excitement, she gave the barest hint of a nod.

That was all he needed. Her clothes and his were off so quickly, it was as if he were still a vampire. He backed her toward the bed and leaned down - straddling her. Her mouth yielded to his and their tongues fought for dominance,

Elena scooted farther back into the bed, drawing the blankets up over the pair. Damon pulled back. "What are you doing?" Elena protested as he clicked off the light. She laughed and reached up and pulled him back down to her. She could feel the broad smile on his face.

"Feeling more relaxed?"

"Not exactly." Elena teased. She ran her hands over his chest.

"And what might help you relax?" He ducked under the covers and began to trail kisses down her collarbone.

"I think you have the general idea." She guided his lips to her breast and arched into him as his teeth gently grazed her sensitive skin.

"Do I?" He worried her breast with his tongue.

Elena felt her pulse racing. "Oh yes."

He slid farther down her body. "Then my plan is working."

* * *

Just in case you still need it. Kid reference:

If the kids are named after US presidents, they belong to Ric and Jenna.

-Jackson (17)

-Kennedy (14 ish)

-Reagan (9)

-Madison (7)

Kids whose names start with a G are Jeremy and Hannah's.

-Grayson (7)

-Gabby (infant)

Damon and Elena's brood:

-Claire (9) – technically, she's Stefan and Elena's, but she's really Damon's now

-Brayden (7)

-Nathan (5), and Emma (5) – twins at the end of "Bittersweet"

Caroline and Craig's kids:

Ainsley (3 ½)

Landon (infant)


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Nope, I still don't own TVD. I wish I did, but I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit. Only the plot of this story is my own.

Sorry the size of the extended family has blown a few of y'all away. I promise we won't have any more family gatherings where everyone is represented. Chapter 2 was just a moment to check in on everyone (and help establish ages).

Warnings: mild adult content, sensitive subject matter, language, violence

* * *

Braydon jumped off the stairwell - still three steps from the bottom. His Cub Scout cap sat perched at an angle atop his dark hair.

"You're sure you have everything?" Elena looked suspiciously at his knapsack.

"Dad checked."

_Damon checked. _Fighting back the urge to roll her eyes, she distinctly recalled driving out to the campsite at two in the morning the last time she let her husband check the camp-out supplies. He might be able to cook. He might be great at putting all their crew to bed. But he did not excel at camping.

"He did, huh? Just like last time when you managed to forget your sleeping bag in the back of his car?" Braydon fidgeted under her expression. She ran the checklist through her head. "Let me see your flashlight."

Braydon frowned as he lowered the bag onto the floor. Rummaging through his camping supplies, he finally withdrew the red-lensed light.

"Turn it on." Elena nodded at the piece of her son's camping equipment.

Click.

_Click._

Braydon stared at the flashlight in his hand.

"I'm thinking that y'all didn't check it." Braydon's mock-surprised expression answered for her. Elena laughed. "You were going to have a very dark night hike." She waved toward the kitchen. "Go get fresh batteries out of the drawer." She glanced out the front window as a deep blue minivan rolled into their driveway. "Hurry! Mr. Hayes just pulled up."

Braydon dug through the drawer until he found a box of batteries. He hurriedly dumped the old batteries into the trash before he put fresh ones in the tube.

"Hey Jack!" Elena opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. She waved at the tall, dark-skinned man. "You sure you're ready for this? No co-scoutmaster for this one? Just you with all them for the three-day weekend?" She reached down and caught hold of the collar of the yipping gray dog making a mad dash for the open door. "No, Molly."

Scoutmaster Hayes laughed as he reached out to shake Elena's hand. "Are you kidding? I live for Camporee. We're going to earn our Night Orienteering badge tonight. Aaron's been practicing for weeks." He waved up up at Damon as he put the finishing touches on the Christmas lights on the roof. "Looks like Damon has the more dangerous job. I'd never get up on your roof. Six boys in one cabin is nothing. Since it's a county-wide campout, we're not even doing our own cooking." He yelled up, "Be careful up there! Do you think you have nine lives or something?"

"Speaking of..." Elena clutched the dog to her chest. "No jumping off the bunk beds this year." Her eyes conveyed the nature of her warning. "I have no desire to drive out to the camp at midnight this year. My car can almost drive itself, but that doesn't mean we really want to make the trip."

"I promise, Mom."

"Okay." She lifted the cap off his head and bent to kiss the top of his head. "Have a good time." She looked back at Jack. "Do we pick him up at 10 on Monday?"

Jack turned to watch Damon descend the ladder. He reached out to steady it as Damon lowered himself down the final rungs. "Yep, unless you want me to bring him home. I'm just around the corner."

"No, we'll come get him." Damon placed his hands over his son's ears. "You'll probably be tired of him by then."

"Dad!" Braydon took off his hat and swatted his father's arm.

"Just messing with you." He adjusted his son's backpack. "Have fun!"

Braydon picked up his bag and looked back and forth between his parents. "Bye!" He waved as he ran to the van.

"Not too much fun!" Elena warned.

Damon turned and walked to the porch. Reaching down, he plugged in the extension cord. "How does it look?"

Elena stopped watching the van as it drove away and turned her attention to the white Christmas lights on the house. "Wow! They're all lit! That has to be a record."

Damon studied his work. "I'm going to have to get Claire to check the lights for me every year." He jogged up the steps and opened the front door. "Hey, Claire, come out for a second."

After a minute, Claire joined them on the porch, looking more than just a little suspicious. "What do I need to do now?"

"Nothing." Damon shook his head.

"Look." Elena pointed at the roofline.

"You're going to be my new official assistant." Damon patted Claire's back. "I think this is the first year everything's been lit on the first try. For that, you deserve to pick what we're having for dinner tonight." He walked to the ladder and broke it down before he carried it into the open garage.

Claire didn't hesitate for a second. "Burgers."

"On the grill?" Elena walked to the door and set the puppy down. She turned and looked at the sky. "It's probably the last nice day for a while. Why not? I've had enough turkey for one Thanksgiving weekend."

* * *

Damon kicked the door closed behind him as he walked into the kitchen with the last of the burger patties. Elena had just finished assembling the burgers and was handing out the plates. "Here you go, Claire." She turned and gave her daughter a plate. "Let's see..." Elena lifted the top bun from the burger. "Emma, here you go."

"Ketchup?" Emma blinked her chocolate brown eyes up at her mother.

"Ketchup." Elena confirmed.

"But no pickles."

"Definitely not. No pickles."

"Pickles are gross." Emma turned up her nose, glaring at the jar on the counter.

"Exactly." Elena giggled, showing her own no-pickle cheeseburger.

"Some people have no taste." Damon ran his hand over the small of his wife's back. He kissed the back of her neck.

"Not at the table." Nathan frowned up at his parents. "Eww."

"Mommy doesn't eat pickles, either." Emma brushed her hair behind her ear. "I'm just like Mommy."

"I know. You're exactly like your mom. At least that's what Jenna likes to say." Laughing, Damon reached for the last two filled plates. Watching his daughter examine her burger for the smallest pickle contamination made him laugh more than it should have. Based on Jenna's all-too-frequent comments, Emma was just like Elena growing up. Watching the way she already knew how to wield those chocolate-brown eyes made him wonder how Elena's parents survived. "Mustard and pickles." He handed Nathan his plate.

Damon's cell phone buzzed in his pocket and disrupted the peaceful evening.

"Please tell me that's not camp." Elena hid her eyes behind her hand.

"Not camp." Damon frowned as he looked at the caller ID. "Hey Liz." His face took on a serious expression. "I'm going to take this outside." His smile faded as he walked through the back door, stumbling slightly on the uneven stone on the patio. "When?" He paused and waited for Liz to continue. "I'll be right there."

Sensing something was wasn't right, Elena followed him to the back door. The sun had already faded into the purple blackness of sunset. She waited for him to pocket the phone. "What's wrong?"

"Watch the little guys for a minute." Damon nodded at Claire before taking hold of Elena's arm to pull her fully onto the back porch. Only after the door was completely closed, Damon answered, the serious note in his voice even frightening himself. "That was Liz on the phone. There's been an attack in the woods." He watched as the color drained from Elena's face. "We don't know anything yet, but Liz wants me to meet her. A Boy Scout troop found a body while they were hiking."

"Braydon's hiking."

_"I know." _Damon bent down next to the flowers that had grown next to the back porch since Claire was a baby, broke off a stem of bright blue flowers, and placed it in his pocket. The impact of the action wasn't lost on Elena.

"Damon?" Her eyes widened in fear. "You don't think."

"They're saying it looks like an animal attack." He met her concerned expression as he ran his hands over her shoulders. "We don't know anything yet." He kissed the top of her forehead before he reentered the house.

Pulling his leather jacket from the hall closet, he turned to Claire, Nathan, and Emma. "Sorry, I'm going to have to leave for a while. Town stuff." He smiled and faked an unconcerned expression. "I'm not sure how late I'll be. We'll light the house tomorrow night." As if as an afterthought he added, "Be good for your mom." He turned and looked once more at Elena before he walked into the night.

* * *

Damon's car rolled to a stop at the edge of the clearing. If Liz hadn't the lights on in her car, he easily would have missed his destination. Why had the boys hiked this close to Wickery Bridge? He hopped out of his vehicle and reached to check for the vervain in his pocket.

"Damon!" Liz called out from the darkness. She walked past a cluster of her officers. "I've been waiting for you, Mayor Salvatore." She walked to his side and lowered her voice. "The coroner is out of town. He was spending Thanksgiving at his sister's in Richmond. He'll be here, but it'll still be a while." She escorted Damon to the edge of the tree line. "I thought it would be better if you had a chance to see what we were dealing with before Scott took a look." Her voice was scarcely above a whisper.

"A Scout troop found it?" Damon tried to sound relaxed.

"Or them...we can't exactly tell." Liz seemed to flinch, but it was difficult to tell in the light of the full moon. "The boys went back to camp with their leader. I think he's going to call their parents."

Damon looked down at his friend. "Do you remember the troop number?"

Liz pulled out her notepad and flashlight before looking down at her scribbles. "87."

That figured. Elena was going to have a heart attack if she hadn't had one already. Damon shook his head.

"Why?"

"That's Braydon's troop."

"I'm sorry, Damon. I didn't know. I don't think he was one of the ones who saw the body. I talked to both of them. But they're all pretty scared."

Liz and Damon crunched through the fallen leaves. The wind had picked up as the night had progressed and he could feel the threat of snow in the air. The weather forecast called for the first snowfall of the season in just a few days' time. If the boys hadn't happened upon the scene when they did, the body could have gone much longer without being discovered.

They walked deeper into the woods. The headlights from Liz's patrol car faded from view, but they no longer needed light to guide them.

The smell.

Something long since gone bad.

Death.

Animal attack.

There was only one kind of animal attack in Mystic Falls, and they both knew that too well. Hell, Liz knew that too.

Long ago, Damon was well aquainted with the stench. But that was a lifetime ago - one he'd done his best to atone for. It was a rotten smell that permeated ever fiber of your body.

"Over here." Liz half-stepped, half-slid down the embankment to the creek. A deep ravine had been cut by the floods during the past spring. The body, or was it bodies, had been tossed in the hole with no real attempt to cover the evidence.

Damon pulled his flashlight from his jacket pocket and lit the macabre scenes below. Yes, they were dead. Two different colored shirts led him to believe he was looking at two bodies, but beyond that...

* * *

"When's Daddy going to be home?" Emma frowned from the doorway. Her pink bunny slippers peeked out from beneath her long, lilac nightgown.

Elena turned away from pulling Nathan's blankets up beneath his chin. "I'm not sure Sweetheart." She leaned down and kissed her son's forehead. "Sweet dreams, Nathan." She placed her hand on Emma's shoulder as she guided her out of the room. As she clicked off the overhead light, she blew him a kiss. "I love you, Buddy."

"Daddy's always home to tuck me in." Emma's lower lip trembled.

"Most of the time." Elena corrected. "Sometimes Mommy and Daddy are gone."

"But then Kennedy's here." Emma folded her arms in front of her.

"Well, tonight something came up." Elena followed Emma into the Pepto-Bismol pink room. She tugged the fluffy bedspread back and patted the mattress. As Emma reluctantly slid into her spot, Elena looked at the bookshelf. "So, what's your Dad reading you these days?"

Emma broke into a broad grin and reached for a worn pink hardback book.

"Pinkalicious?" Elena looked skeptically at the book.

"Every night!" Emma nodded eagerly.

"Your daddy must _really_ love you." Elena ruffled Emma's deep brown hair. "Okay, Pinkalicious it is. Pink. Pink. Pink. Pinkalicious loved the color pink..." Emma nestled into the pillow and closed her eyes. She whispered the words along with Elena, never missing a word. "You could probably read this to yourself."

"But it's more fun when you read it to me." Emma yawned.

"I know." Elena swept Emma's bangs back from her forehead. "Good night, Sweetheart. Go to sleep. No waiting on Daddy."

"But he'll come give me a goodnight kiss, won't he?" Emma's eyes widened in concern. "He always gives me a goodnight kiss. Even if I was already asleep."

Elena nodded as she turned off the light. "I promise." She walked to Claire's room and leaned in the door. "I'm going to read for a bit. You want me to tuck you in?"

"No." Claire shook her head as she looked up from her journal. "I'm good."

"Don't stay up too much longer."

Claire looked at the clock. "Thirty minutes?"

Elena pursed her lips. They were already more than a little off schedule. With Damon not home, everyone's nerves were a little ruffled. Elena's most of all. She needed all the kids to be asleep, that way no one would notice if she totally broke down. "Twenty."

"Deal." Claire stretched to the ceiling, yawning. "Dad's out late."

"He needed to help Sheriff Forbes with something."

"But he's alright, isn't he? He hasn't called. He always sends a text if we're going to bed without him here."

As if he could hear their conversation, Elena's phone chirped from its place on the hallway table. She walked to retrieve it and smiled at the text message. She could reassure her daughter in good faith. "That's a note from your dad. He just wanted to let us know that he's fine, but he'll be late. _Really _late. Like don't-wake-him-in-the-morning-late."

Claire smiled and leaned back on her bed. She closed her journal and reached out to turn out her light. "Maybe I will go to bed."

"I think that's a good idea." Elena blew Claire a kiss as she left the room. Now Elena was alone with her worries. She glanced at Braydon's empty bed while walking past the boys' room.

Damon had taken vervain with him. Elena replayed that memory in her head. Fighting the overwhelming panic creeping up her spine.

Vervain.

That meant…

He put _vervain _in his pocket. He was suspicious. People died in Mystic Falls - not often - but it happened. Mrs. Merriweather had passed away just a few weeks ago. Her son found her body when she hadn't returned his phone calls.

No one called Damon that night.

Liz was worried. As mayor, Damon was still the head of the town's secret council. The council hadn't met in years. Elena would know, since she was one of the three Gilbert representatives.

Elena's heart sped in her chest as if she'd been training for a marathon. She tried to swallow through a dry mouth. Liz hadn't called him because of town business. She'd called him for _council_ business.

_Oh God no. _

A shiver ran through Elena. Things had been normal in town for so long, she'd assumed Mystic Falls might have just become a normal town.

That would be too easy.

She reached for her spiral notebook and favorite purple pen. She'd transfer the images flowing through her head into her next chapter. Val wanted this book to be scary...Elena had plenty of scary to work with in her memories.

* * *

**_Fifteen years earlier…_**

_Bonnie and Lucy leaned over the discolored pages of the book Luka had snuck from his father's collection._

"_But will it work?" Stefan leaned forward on his elbows. Worry was etched on his face._

_Lucy looked up at him with a distinctive _Be Quiet_ expression on her face. She resumed her study of the page._

_Elena sat frozen on the couch, content to let the others debate their next move. Her arms still showed the handprints of those that had pulled her into the woods days before. She'd only been barely conscious when Damon had held his bleeding arm to her lips. _

_Over the past hours, she seemed to become more aware of her surroundings; but, as always, the blood did little to heal her deep cuts and bruises. Elena still wasn't totally Elena, though. _

_Now she was safely tucked between brothers on their leather couch. She leaned over and curled against Damon's shoulder._

_Stefan noticed._

_Stefan noticed everything about Elena that night._

_Stefan definitely noticed _who _saved her. Damon felt the weight of his brother's stare even without turning to look at him. Elena's breathing choked in her chest. Damon reached around Elena, pulling her closer against him. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "You're okay now. You're safe. I promise."_

_Stefan's muscles tensed with each word. He'd deal with is brother later. _

"_I think it should." Oblivious to the tension between the brothers, Lucy's words sounded like a shout in the silence of the Salvatore living room. "We can do it." Lucy nodded at all three occupants of the couch._

"_This is a strong spell. A powerful one. It's the right spell." Bonnie nodded tearfully. _

"_What does that mean?" Elena spoke for the first time since her rescue._

"_We can take the Petrova curse away." Bonnie's hesitant smile spoke volumes._

"_You won't be the doppleganger anymore." Luka gave Elena a hesitant smile. "Klaus won't be able to use you. No one else will be trying to kill you to keep him from making hybrids either. It's a win-win."_

"_You won't be going back on your promise to Elijah. You don't have to run. You can stay here. You're still safe, but you can't be used to break the curse."_

"_Could it really be that simple?" Damon fought his suspicious nature. He didn't like resorting to using the witches' help, but Elena would die if they didn't._

"_I think it can." Lucy sat back on the couch. "We remove the curse from Elena, and the world will just wait for the next chance to break the curse." She reached out and took a drink of her water. "In 500 years or so, the two of you can come protect the next Petrova doppleganger."_

"_Oh no." Damon shook his head. "That one will be on her own."_

* * *

Elena startled awake, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Sorry." Damon slid into bed next to his wife. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Elena struggled to breathe normally. She hadn't dreamed of that night in years. She still wasn't sure what part of the night had happened and which parts her subconscious dreamed up. The only thing she was really certain of is after the spell, she'd no longer been of any value to Klaus. He'd tried to use her blood, but it didn't work any longer.

That night felt like a lifetime ago.

"You're shaking." His eyes flashed with concern as he pulled her to him and tucked her under his arm.

"Bad dream." She blinked back tears. No need to worry him over a bad dream. He looked like he'd had a difficult-enough night of his own. "What did you find?"

"They were dead." Damon answered simply. "But I couldn't tell. They'd been there for a long time."

"They?" Elena's brow knitted together. "I thought Liz said a body."

"It was kind of hard to tell." Damon slid his hand up and down Elena's arm. "But it looked like two people, not one."

"Do you think?" Elena couldn't fully voice the question. "Could it have been? Are they really?"

"The bodies had been there for a long time." Damon looked into Elena's frightened eyes. "Probably, yes. But there's no reason for them to be coming after you." He kissed her hair. "Sometimes they're just passing through. It happens. I wouldn't have let Braydon stay the rest of the night if I thought it was dangerous."

"Still..."

"I know. But we're all going to be safe." Even in the dim light from the moon filtering through the edge of the shutters, Elena could see Damon hadn't completely convinced himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Ratings and warnings: M - mature subject matter, adult content, violence, language

I don't own TVD or its characters. Only the plots are mine.

* * *

The elementary school choir sang _Rocking Around the Christmas Tree_, only slightly off-key, beneath the just-lit town Christmas tree. As the chorus began, four very grumpy snowmen joined hands with elves in fur-trimmed skirts and began to do what could only be considered a dance by parents or doting grandparents.

"Nathan looks like he'd rather be anywhere else." Elena pulled the camera away from her face as she turned in surprise at the unexpected voice. John wore a ghost of a smile as he watched his youngest two grandchildren. "But Emma seems to be enjoying herself."

"She's such a ham. She's been practicing every night this month." Elena tried to make her shoulders relax as interacted with her father. She turned her attention back at the show. Thankfully, Mrs. Johnston had the sense not to make her children be partners. Not every teacher understood that simply because they were twins didn't mean they were instantly compatible.

The song mercifully over, the dancers stood at the front of the stage and waved at the audience. Emma smiled broadly and beamed out at the assembled crowd. A natural performer, she waved and her curled pigtails bobbed up and down. She blinked at an insanely bright flash in front of her.

Elena's eyes followed the source of the flash, and she recognized the reporter from the newspaper that had been circulating among the crowd that evening.

Studying the faces around her, Elena was once again reminded how little had changed in Mystic Falls. The children dancing and singing tonight were the offspring of Elena's high school classmates. Her high school classmates were the descendants of her parents' high school friends. Nothing changed in Mystic Falls.

Which is why the newcomer bothered her. Not so many years ago, someone new in town would be the signal that something bad was about to happen. A new wickedness was on its way.

But that was years ago – a lifetime really. Even the vampire attack from months ago seemed to be an isolated incident. A case of a hiker being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Coincidence. Nothing more.

That was the refrain Elena repeated to herself every night. Mystic Falls was peaceful now. Trouble free. No supernaturals. Nothing dangerous lurked in the dark. She reminded herself of that every night…while she watched Damon locking the doors and tucking sprigs of dried vervain in the pockets of their children's coats…where they wouldn't find the plants and ask questions no one was ready to answer.

She reminded herself things were fine here. Peaceful.

But it didn't stop the niggling at the pit of her stomach. A newcomer was in town. No one ever came to Mystic Falls. At least no one came without an agenda.

"She reminds me more of you every time I see her." John interrupted Elena's spiraling thoughts. "Except for the ribbons. Your dad taught you how to pull ribbons out of your hair when you were two. Miranda could never get you to leave them in after that." The crowd erupted into applause as the kindergarteners stepped down from the stage.

"I didn't know you were coming." She looked doubtfully at him. They walked toward the sidewalk and stood beneath one of the ivy-wrapped streetlamps. The Christmas tree lighting was still new as far as the history of the town was concerned, but it had quickly become one of Mystic Falls' most popular seasonal events.

"It was a last minute decision. I just wanted to watch. Sorry." He smiled at the fuzzy snowman running to meet Elena, his eyes more than a little sad. He's watched Elena grow up from the distant sidelines. Now he was doing the same with his grandchildren. Nathan's fedora flew off his head, and John stooped down to pick it up. "I haven't seen them in a while. I knew you'd all be here." He looked Elena straight in the eyes. "I hope you don't mind. I'll be going now."

"That was horrible." Old before his time, Nathan grumpily shuffled to his mother, the exact opposite of his sister who was positively bubbling with excitement. Happy yells echoed in the distance, and the corners of his lips drew up in a half-smile that was almost a carbon copy of his father's. "Can we go ride down the snow hill now?"

"You were spectacular. I couldn't take my eyes off either of you." She knelt down and hugged him tightly. She stood up and noticed the wistful expression on John's face. "I think we're going to do Santa next, but we won't forget to ride the hill. John," she reached out and took hold of his arm, summoning all her strength. "Why don't you stay? Watching them with Santa is kind of hard to describe."

"Really? We have to do Santa next? Mom…" Elena could feel Claire's eyes rolling without even turning to look. Claire handed her mother a steaming cup of whipped cream topped hot chocolate. "Dad sent you this. He's still over there being official."

"Thanks! I see he must have been able to tell that you got tired of standing there smiling and nodding your head." Elena blew on the steaming cup. She turned her attention back to John as he studied Claire. "And yes, we're doing Santa. Uncle John's even staying to watch."

Claire gave an embarrassed smile as she shifted back and forth, overcome by a sudden attack of manners. "I'm sorry, Uncle John, I didn't know you were here. Do you want my hot chocolate? I haven't had any of it."

"No, Claire. Thank you, though." He patted her on the shoulder. "Where's Braydon?"

"He's doing winter camping with the scouts. Where else would he be? I think he's determined to be the youngest Eagle Scout in history." Damon stepped up to meet them. He surveyed the group. "Where's Emma?"

Nathan turned around. "She was right behind me." His eyes flashed back and forth behind his glasses. "Mrs. Johnston made sure we were together."

Damon squinted into the semi-darkness, but Elena was acutely aware that the Christmas lights wrapped around the streetlamps didn't cast much light into the crowd milling about the stage. "Emma?" He called out as he began to push through the crowd.

"Claire, wait here with Uncle John." Elena reached down for Nathan's hand. "Emma?" She plunged into the sea of festival-goers clinging tightly to Nathan's hand as she pulled him to the opposite side of the stage. She hopped onto the bottom step leading up to the stage to get a better view, but she might as well have been looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Every time she caught a glimpse of a girl who might have been Emma, her stomach sank, realizing it was just another of the identically-dressed performers. Tonight was quickly turning into a nightmare. "Emma!"

She felt a tug at her sleeve and looked to see who it was. "I sent her back to you with Nathan. Wasn't she with him?" Mrs. Johnston looked confused.

Elena shook her head. "No. He's the only one who met us."

"Well, she can't have gone too far. You know how these little ones can be. They see one interesting thing, and they dart off without thinking." Mrs. Johnson climbed to the top of the stairs.

Elena refused to contradict her, but her children wouldn't just disappear. Too much of Elena and Damon's pasts hung over them like a shadow, and it influenced how they'd raised their children. No Salvatore just disappeared into the crowd.

That was the way someone ended up missing or worse.

"Damon." Liz Forbes' voice called out through the crowd. "You looking for something?" She carried a sniffling Emma in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Emma sobbed as she reached out to wrap her arms around his neck. "I didn't mean to. I know the rules."

"Why'd you leave Nathan?" He pulled her to his chest before he ran one hand over her forehead as if he were checking to make certain she was unscathed. "We were worried about you."

"I'm afraid that's my fault." A tall man with short-cropped red hair came to stand in front of Damon. His British accent suggested he wasn't from anywhere around Mystic Falls. "I was asking her what her name was for the paper. I'd taken her photograph tonight, you see. I don't like labeling my subjects as just random members of the crowd. Just as I was about to have her point out her parents to me, she scurried off. I didn't realize she was yours."

"One of them." Damon led the man back to the rest of his family. "Elena, John, this is Blake Silverman. He and his wife just bought the paper."

"Nice to meet you, Blake." John extended his hand.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls." Elena's phone rang in her purse. "Excuse me." She dropped Nathan's hand as she dug around for it. Glancing at the caller ID, she fought the urge to use non-child appropriate language. "This can't be good." She shook her head as she answered the call. She stepped away from the cluster of family members so she could hear better.

"Hey Jack. Please don't tell me he's broken something." She shook her head at Damon's unasked question. "Really? Ugh. That sounds horrible." She made a face. "I'm so sorry." She was quiet as she listened to the scoutmaster. "Sure. I'll be there in about...30 minutes. We're at the Christmas tree lighting. No, really, it isn't a problem. You don't need to drop him off. I don't mind." She ended the call and walked to the group.

"They really should have cancelled the Camporee. It's either food poisoning or a stomach virus." She dropped her phone into her purse. "Braydon's one of the only ones who doesn't have it, but they're calling all the parents. We've got to go get him. Come on you three. Your daddy can't leave yet, so we'll have to come back to pick him up after we have Braydon."

"But Momma! We haven't seen Santa yet!" Tears threatened to spill once again down Emma's cheeks. She looked frantically in the direction of the red-suited man in the antique sleigh. Emma began talking about her yearly visit to Santa before Halloween every year.

"Emma," Damon slid her to the ground. "We can't leave your brother there by himself."

"I could drive all of you home, Damon." Uncle John had faded into the background. Honestly, Damon and Elena had almost forgotten he was there. "I'll let them finish the festival, then when everyone's ready to leave, I'll drive them. My car's plenty big enough. No reason for them to miss out on the fun."

"Really?" Elena turned to look at him in disbelief.

John nodded. "I never got to see you with Santa, but I can see them."

"If you're sure you don't mind..."

"It would be my pleasure." He extended his arm in Emma's direction. "Should we go see Santa?"

"He really is trying." Damon stood back next to Elena.

"I know." With a twinge of sadness, she watched him lead her two youngest children away. "Maybe we really should invite him over sometime." She shook her head as if she was surprised the words actually left her mouth. "I've got to go."

"Can I come?" Claire asked. "Please don't make me stand in the Santa line."

"But then how will he know what you want?" Damon smiled at his daughter.

"I'll catch him at the mall."

"Ok, then, let's go." Elena ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. First a camping trip ended with the discovery of a dead body. Now the scouts were hit by food poisoning...what else could go wrong? Maybe Braydon would skip the next event. "We'll meet you at home."

"Watch the turn before you get to the creek. They haven't fixed it from when it flooded."

"I know. I remember. We'll be careful."

Damon reached behind the small of her back and brought his lips to hers. "You're going to miss the mistletoe."

Elena's cheeks flushed pink. "Go. Do Mayor stuff. Make sure John doesn't let the twins take up too much of Santa's time."

"Mom, come on." Claire shook her head and tapped her foot.

* * *

Damon jogged to catch up to John and the twins. Emma had taken hold of his hand and was swinging it wildly back and forth. Even from a distance away, Damon had no trouble hearing her practicing reciting her list.

"And a kitten."

"Daddy said no to the kitten. Molly wouldn't like it."

"Who's Molly?"

Nathan hopped up and down in excitement. "She's our puppy. We got her for an early birthday present. You'll have to come over and see her. You haven't been to our house in forever. Dad put up a big playground in the yard."

"A playground?"

"A play yard." Damon corrected. "One of those wooden things. Swing set. Monkey bars. And a fort that looks like a pirate's ship."

"But you'll love Molly. You have to be careful. She pees when she's excited." Nathan turned up his nose in disgust.

"I will." John laughed at Nathan's excitement. "You can show her to me when I take you home tonight. How does that sound?" They'd reached the line to see Santa Claus. Emma and Nathan ran ahead. Jonathan turned when he saw that Damon had reached his side. "They're definitely energetic."

Damon nodded. "If they'd been first, I doubt Braydon would have come into the world."

The men stood in silence for a moment. "Thanks for offering to drive us home. Emma lives to see Santa every year."

"Sounds just like her mom. Grayson always sent me a picture of her on Santa's lap. He said she started making her list before Halloween. So really, I don't mind. It helps me imagine what Elena must have been like growing up."

"Yep. Sounds like Emma's just like her mom. I think she's on list 100 right now." Damon paused, noticing the wistful expression on John's face while he watched the twins. "You didn't see her very often, did you?"

"No." John shook his head. "Grayson was furious when he found out that Isobel was pregnant. As a college student, I should have known better. He made sure Elena grew up with a less than positive impression of me." As Emma and Nathan moved forward in the line, he lowered his voice. "I heard about what the scouts found in the woods last month."

Damon wasn't surprised. He also had an idea that John had decided to come tonight to have this very discussion. "As a council member, I'd have been more surprised if you hadn't."

"What do you know?"

"Not much." Damon frowned. He liked to be in control of a situation, and right now he had far less information than he would have liked. "Two dead bodies. Something killed them and then tore them apart. Or something tore them apart while they were killed. They'd been there too long. We couldn't really tell."

"Do you think we should be concerned?"

"We live in Mystic Falls, John. There's a reason Elena started putting vervain in their orange juice every morning."

* * *

"Mom?" Claire drummed her fingers on the console between the front two seats. She spun the dial trying to find a station playing the best Christmas music. She'd already heard "Holly Jolly Christmas" five times more often than she should have that night. "Do you like Uncle John?"

Elena studied her daughter out of the corner of her eye. "What kind of question is that?"

Claire often seemed like an adult trapped in a child's body. Where did she come up with some of the questions she asked? Elena squinted as she looked down the winding road. Damon hadn't been exaggerating when he warned her about the missing pavement.

"You always seem so tense around him. You act like you wish he'd just go away."

"Do I?" Elena couldn't fight back a hesitant laugh. "I guess I do." She nodded in agreement. "I really shouldn't, though. I just didn't get too much of a chance to get to know him when I was younger."

"That's sad." She chewed her lip and appeared to be debating with herself whether or not to move on to the next subject. "I like Uncle John." Claire smiled hesitantly. "Is that ok?"

"I'm glad you like him. And it's perfectly okay." Elena pursed her lips. Keeping the secret of who John was wasn't just costing him the chance to be a grandfather. For the first time, she realized she was also keeping her children from the only grandparent they truly had.

The car bounced over a section of missing pavement interrupting Elena's thoughts. As they crested the hill, she looked down at the road below. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch as she saw the thick bank of fog blanketing the road.

* * *

"Thanks, John. Elena should be back any second if you want to wait to see Braydon." Damon pulled the front door closed behind him. He squinted under the glare of the clear Christmas lights lining the porch roof.

Molly barked happily as Emma and Nathan threw a tennis ball around the living room. Damon's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the display in confusion. "Hey Jack! Hope you didn't catch the bug. Did Braydon forget something?" His laughter caught in his throat.

"I'll just be going." John stepped toward the stairs.

Damon shook his head and held up a finger to signal to John to wait. "What do you mean she's not there yet?" He glanced at his watch. "She left the Christmas tree lighting almost an hour ago. From the park, it should have only taken 15 minutes or so. Yes, I understand. I'll call her and tell her to turn around since you decided to just drive Braydon home. Sorry about that. Thanks!" Damon flipped the phone closed.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. She hasn't picked Braydon up yet. She should have been there at least 30 minutes ago." Damon dialed Elena's number. "No answer."

He fought to ignore the first hint of discomfort in the pit of his stomach as he keyed in Jenna's phone number. "Jenna? Have you heard anything from Elena? No. No. I'm sure everything's fine. I was just checking. Maybe she just turned off her phone. Yes, I know we're talking about my wife. I'll get her to call you when she gets in."

A more intense wave of uneasiness came over him. He felt John staring at him as he dialed Elena's number. Just when he thought he was going to reach her voicemail again, someone answered. "Daddy? Is that you Daddy? Momma needs your help."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: Y'all are in luck. I needed a little break from some editing I was doing, so off to fanfiction land I flew. (And I knew that was a cruel cliffhanger, couldn't leave it too long.)

Warnings: Mature rating, adult content, sensitive subject matter, mild language, violence, really cruel cliffhanger

* * *

_**Twenty minutes earlier...**_

"Claire, if I have to listen to _The Holly and the Ivy_ again, I'm going to scream. Can you change it to something different?" Elena stifled a yawn as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. The weather had turned cool and damp in the past few hours, but she hadn't expected this amount of fog.

Claire tried several stations before settling on her favorite radio station. "Is that better?" She teased her mother as Hannah Montana's cover of _Jingle Bell Rock_ blared from the speakers. Elena hated that song, and Claire mimicked her father's "eye thing" in her mother's direction. When Elena didn't react, Claire looked out the window. She couldn't see the edge of the road. They were completely enclosed by the fog. "Mom?"

Her mom was gripping the wheel too tightly. Her fingers had gone from pink to white to a sickly sort of gray. Five minutes ago, they were trying to each out-sing each other during the sing-along portion of the radio show, and now her mom looked ready to jump through the SUV's sunroof. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"We're fine. Nothing to worry about. We're just getting close to Drowning Creek. The fog's always worse around here."

But her mom was worried. Claire could tell. One minute it was a perfectly clear night illuminated by an almost-full moon, and now they were in fog so thick they could be recreating a horror movie.

Movement caught Claire's eye. A dark shape seemed to be keeping pace with the car. Her mom saw it too. Elena flicked the lock button on the car door.

She blinked. Her eyes had to be playing tricks with her. Nothing could move that fast. It was the fog…playing tricks on her.

The shape sped alongside them - for an instant, it was caught in the edge of the beams from the headlights.

Elena pressed harder on the accelerator. Claire felt the rush of power from the car's engine pressing her into the back of the seat. She looked at the dashboard. Holy crap. She'd never seen numbers that high…or at least not when her mom was driving.

"Mom!" Claire watched as the speedometer crept higher. "Don't go so fast!"

"Claire, I need you to reach into my purse and get my phone." She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady. Elena waited until Claire sat up holding the phone in her hand. "Call your Da-"

Something was in front of the car. It was like a log, but it wasn't a log.

It couldn't be.

It was. Someone was in the road.

'Mom, look out!"

Her mom only had a half-second to react. Not nearly enough time. In a feeble attempt to keep her safe, Elena threw an arm across Claire's chest.

And then they flew.

A crash of glass. A shriek of metal. Sounds that Claire didn't know cars should make…sounds that cars _shouldn't _make filled her ears.

With her free hand, her mom fought to control the SUV as it pretended to be a crashing airplane, but the wheels had nothing to grip. The car lurched and crashed through the guardrail and rocketed into the ravine below.

"Get down!" She pushed a screaming Claire down in her seat and covered Claire's body with her own. "I'm so sorry, Sweetheart." Elena grabbed hold of her daughter as if both their lives depended on it. The car lurched in midair and rolled down the hill.

"Oh please no. Do whatever you want with me, but please don't hurt her." Her mom spoke in a pleading half-whisper to no one.

Or at least no one Claire could see.

Claire struggled to open her eyes. Her alarm clock was going off, but she was still so tired. She squinted into the darkness at the vaguely familiar song.

She was freezing. Beyond freezing. Who turned the heater off? She couldn't stop shaking. Her muscles hurt. Was she sick? That must be it.

She felt like she had the flu. Mom was going to be ticked off this close to Christmas. "Mom?"

But she wasn't alone. Something was moving. Splashing. Not sounds that should be in her room. And honestly, this didn't feel like her room.

Finally, she succeeded in persuading her eyes to open a crack - not what she was expecting... Why was she sleeping in her mother's car? She strained against her seatbelt.

Her head was pounding. She reached up and brushed her hair away from her eyes and grimaced as her fingers came away sticky. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She remembered.

The fog.

The look of fear on her mother's face.

Elena throwing her down in her seat and shielding her as the car careened off the blind curve into the nothingness of the creekbed below.

"Mom?" Claire spun in her seat and fought back a wave of nausea as she caught sight of her mother slumped against the shattered window. Oh, she shouldn't have done that. Her neck hurt. It burned like fire.

"Mom!" She brushed the broken glass off Elena's shoulder as she tried to shake her mother awake. "Mommy! Come on, wake up!" Claire's words came in frightened sobs.

Elena's phone rang as it danced along the floorboard below Claire. "Daddy." She recognized the distinctive ringtone her mother used for Damon's phone calls. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she ducked under the bent roof of the car as she reached for the phone. Grasping it as if it were a lifeline, she let her unshed tears begin to fall as she answered the call. "Daddy? Momma needs your help."

"Claire, what's wrong? Where are you?"

* * *

"Daddy, please!" Claire's words dissolved into a series of unintelligible noises. She couldn't help it. She knew she needed to be brave, but this was asking too much. "Daddy, there was someone in the road…."

"Claire!" Damon fought the panic rising in his chest. _Someone in the road. _

_No. _

_No. It couldn't be. But even as he tried to convince himself, the look in John's eyes reminded him that this was Mystic Falls._

_And Damon knew exactly what had happened._

"Claire, I want to help you. I need you to tell me where you are." He turned his back on John - he still hadn't earned the right to be worried about Elena and Claire. "Claire Bear," he resorted the nickname from years ago, "look around. What do you see?"

Claire sobbed into the phone and it sent a dagger into his heart. "Nothing. Daddy, it's too dark. I don't like the dark."

"Can you give your mom the phone?"

"I tried. She won't wake up. Daddy, I don't think she's breathing. She doesn't sound like she's breathing." His daughter descended into the depths of the same panic trying to consume Damon.

Damon leaned against the porch railing. He'd never felt this trapped before - not even when they were trying to decide how to lift the doppleganger curse from Elena.

And they'd lifted it – at much too high a cost.

No vampire should be coming after her any longer. They didn't need her. She wasn't any use to them.

Elena couldn't be dead. They'd made it through too much for her to die on the way to pick up their son from camp.

She wasn't dead.

She wasn't.

He knew his wife was hurt...unconscious...somewhere. His only link to her was his very panicked daughter who he desperately didn't want to upset any more than she already was. "Claire, I'm going to find you." He turned to look at John. For the first time, he saw a worried father looking back at him.

"What can I do?"

He covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "I need you to stay with them." He nodded to the shrieks of laughter coming from the house. "Call Jenna and Ric. See if Kennedy can come over. She knows how to put them to bed. I'll call you when I know something. Once she's here, you can start looking too." He dug his keys out of his pocket and ran toward his car. "Claire, I'm on my way."

* * *

"My head hurts." Her words slurred ever so slightly. After a half-hour of listening to her sobs over the chirping of his low-battery warning, she started talking again. He'd made it all the way to the scout camp without passing their car.

Somehow Elena must have gotten turned around as she headed home, but she'd lived here forever. She wouldn't have just gotten lost.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart." His tires squealed as he flew down the narrow back road that could scarcely be called a road. "Keep talking to me."

"Daddy. I'm cold. It's freezing. You need to turn on the heater."

"I will. I will, baby, I will. As soon as I find you, I'll turn the heater up to high. We can even turn on the seat heaters."

"Why aren't you here yet, Daddy?"

"I'm trying. Trust me Claire Bear, I'm trying. Are you wearing your jacket?"

"Yeah, but the windows are broken. It's not helping. The wind's blowing so hard. And it's wet. And sticky."

In the background, Damon could hear a faint wail. Despite their now-spotty church attendance, he didn't consider himself to be a praying man. However, tonight wasn't a normal night. As he blew through the stop sign at the end of the street, he began to plead with God to let that siren be headed in Elena and Claire's direction. "Do you hear that?"

Only silence answered.

"Claire!" He shouted into the phone.

"Daddy?" She sounded as if he'd woken her up from an unexpected nap.

"Stay awake, Claire. Do you hear that siren?" The noise was louder in the background. Surely Claire could hear it by now.

"What siren?"

"There's someone coming. I can hear it. Just wait. They're looking for youyou're your mom." Damon had never heard such a beautiful sound. The ambulance couldn't be far from Claire.

Precious moments ticked by. The siren grew louder, then stopped.

"Claire?"

"Claire?"

Please let her answer. "Come on, Claire, stay with me."

"Uncle Matt!" Claire yelled through the phone.

"Claire?" Matt's husky voice was filled with concern.

"Daddy. Uncle Matt's here."

"Can you put him on the phone?"

"Damon?" He'd never been so happy to hear Matt Donovan's voice.

"Matt." In the past, Damon had wondered why Matt decided to bring his family back to Mystic Falls after he left the army. His time here had been filled with so much sadness. Tonight wasn't one of those times. Tonight, Matt's experience as an army medic was the only thing keeping Damon sane. "How are they?"

"I haven't had a chance to check yet." Matt paused.

For too long. That single hesitation told him far more than he needed to know.

"You know I can't tell you anything."

"Matt, please. Is she alive?"

"I can't get to Elena. The driver's side is pinned against a tree. I have to get Claire out first before I know how she is."

Damon could hear the hesitancy in Matt's voice. "Matt, tell me the truth."

"You need to meet us at Mystic Falls General, Damon. There's more blood than I've ever seen." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It doesn't look good." He clicked off the phone and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Ok, Claire, let's get you out of here." Matt threw a heavy blanket over the edge of the window to protect her from the broken glass. Claire turned and stared in her mother's direction. "I promise you, we'll get your mom out. I can't get her door open. We need where you're sitting." He'd done a quick exam of Claire and was comfortable moving her. He'd been alarmed at the amount of blood matting her hair; but after a closer look, he realized the blood was Elena's. "Logan keeps asking me when you're going to come over again. Did he tell you that Ginger had puppies?"

Claire shook her head no.

"I know you've been wanting a dog. Maybe your dad will let you have one of hers."

"No." Claire sniffed as Matt carefully gripped her under her arms. "He just bought Brayden and Emma a puppy. We can't have two."

Matt gave her a twisted grin. "Oh, I'll bet we could persuade him. Okay, I'm going to pull you out. Tell me to stop if anything hurts." Matt nodded to his partner and together they lifted Claire from the precariously leaning SUV. As Claire cleared the opening of the window, the car slid a few inches down the embankment toward Drowning Creek. The copse of young trees couldn't handle the weight of the car much longer. They needed to get Elena out quickly. Matt cradled Claire in his arms as he walked to the waiting ambulance. As much as he wanted to stay with her, he knew he needed to stay with Elena more. "Claire, this is my partner, Elise. She's going to be going with you. Your dad will meet you there."

* * *

Damon stepped through the sliding glass door leading into the emergency room. He'd walked through these doors far too many times through the years.

Just four months ago, he'd carried Brayden through this entrance to the emergency room after he'd discovered he couldn't quite span the distance between the bunk beds at Wickery Creek Encampment.

When Nathan was two, he'd rushed a flailing blood-soaked toddler into the building when he'd tripped and hit his head on the corner of Jeremy and Hannah's coffee table. Poor guy still had the scar.

Damon had been so worried then, but nothing came close to what he was experiencing now.

As the doors whispered closed behind him, he immediately flashed back to _that_ day...the day that everything changed. The day they never talked about – not even in the depth of the darkness of the night.

Ten years ago, he'd rushed in here - not knowing if Elena would survive or not. They'd had nine incredible years together.

Matt's words echoed in his memories. "It doesn't look good."

He stopped and reached for the wall, his chest tightened, and the room threatened to spin around him. He had to hold it together. But how? If she was gone…

Fate couldn't take her away from him now. The world wouldn't be that cruel. He knew he'd never paid for all the pain he'd caused before he met Elena, but he couldn't lose her now.

He reached the reception area of the emergency room. He glanced at the clock, almost eleven. He hadn't realized five hours had passed since he left the tree lighting.

The hospital was in night mode. These overnight hours at the hospital were a study in contrasts. Most of the lights were darkened, and the noise from overhead speakers and machines kept to a minimum. However, those that wandered the halls at this time of night had such a sense of purpose. People weren't here now unless they absolutely had to be.

"Can I help you, sir?" A dark-haired, overweight woman looked up from her crossword puzzle.

"My wife and daughter. They were in an accident. I'm supposed to meet them here. Matt told me to come." Damon was amazed at the amount of effort he had to expend just to say those simple words.

"Their names?" She yawned up at him. Clearly she didn't understand the urgency of the situation.

"Elena and Claire Salvatore." He gripped the edge of the desk and willed her fingers to move more quickly over the keyboard.

She shook her head and made a tsking noise. "I'm not showing them here."

"They're here," he insisted. "I talked with the EMT. He said to meet them here."

She frowned and looked back at the computer. Punching in a few more keys, she held her glasses to her face. "Hmm... Still nothing. But if you talked to Matt." She flicked her eyes up to meet his. "Let me go back and check."

He bit back a bitter response. "Please, go do that."

He ignored the footsteps approaching from behind as he dug his buzzing phone from his pocket. Jenna. He shouldn't have expected anyone else.

He read the text message. "How are they?"

It pained him to give the only answer he knew. "I don't know yet."

"Damon?" He turned in response to the familiar voice. "Have you heard anything?" Liz Forbes gently patted his arm.

He fought to mask the emotions welling inside him. "No." He stared at her. "How did you know?"

Liz sighed as she leaned against the support column next to the desk. "I was driving down the road. I saw the damage to the guardrail. I stopped to look and saw the car."

"You're the one who found it?"

She nodded her head. "I'm sorry, Damon. I didn't realize it was Elena's car. I couldn't even tell it was an SUV. It…didn't look like an SUV. I would have called you."

"I know." He gave a jerk of his head.

"Mr. Salvatore?" The receptionist returned. "Your daughter is here. Dr. Hodges would like to speak with you."

"Go. I'll wait." Liz motioned to the waiting area.

"She's a very lucky girl." Dr. Hodges reached out and shook Damon's hand before she continued to speak. The zebra clipped to her stethoscope led him to believe she was the pediatrician on duty for the evening. "Aside from some bumps and bruises and a cut on her neck, I can't find anything wrong with her."

"A cut?"

The a flicker of something crossed the doctor's expression. "There was a lot of glass. She must have gotten cut. A nurse is stitching her up right now."

Damon's blood pounded in his veins. A cut on her neck. Right. And Rudolph would soon be landing at the hospital. For the first time in a very long time, he regretted being human.

"Mr. Salvatore, are you alright?" The doctor looked at him. She was afraid.

"I'm fine. It's just that her words were slurred on the phone."

Dr. Hodges nodded. "Cold...probably mild shock. We think she was unconscious for a while, but the x-rays don't show anything. The EMT I spoke with said it's a miracle she made it out unscathed."

"Matt's here?"

"Matt Donovan? No, he stayed behind with your wife."

Damon struggled to swallow. "Do you have any news on her?"

The doctor shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't really know anything other than the fact they're still trying to extract her from the vehicle. She did an excellent job protecting your daughter, though. Claire told me she held her down and wouldn't let her sit up. Would you like to see your daughter now?"

Damon nodded stiffly as he followed Dr. Hodges through the automated doors. Most of the curtained areas sat empty - only a handful seemed to be in use. They walked to the very last one before Dr. Hodges ducked inside.

"Hello Miss Claire! Somebody's here to see you. Are you ready to go home?" The doctor spoke just a little too brightly. Claire was smart. He knew she'd see through the doctor's attempts to keep her mind off her mother.

Rounding the corner, he forced a smile as his eyes fell on his daughter. Her previously green sweater was stained a deep crimson.

"Most of the blood isn't hers." The doctor provided a detail he didn't need to hear.

"Daddy." She reached out and buried her face in his chest. "I was so scared. How's Mom? They said she isn't here yet."

"I know." He ran his fingers through her tangled hair. "I've got you now." He softly rocked back and forth, choosing to ignore the question he wasn't prepared to answer. He could feel her trembling beneath his hands. "She's shaking. You're sure she's alright?"

Dr. Hodges nodded with certainty. "She'll be as good as new after a solid night's sleep." She turned and looked at the computer sitting on the table at the side of the room. "I'll fill out the forms to release her."

A siren could be heard in the distance. Dr. Hodges stiffened. "There's only one ambulance out tonight."

The tension level in the emergency room could be felt even in Claire's little room. Doctors and nurses filled the previously empty hallways as they prepared for the ambulance's arrival. "Why don't you take her out to the waiting area, and I'll have a nurse bring them out to you."

Damon understood. Dr. Hodges didn't want Claire there when they were working on Elena. Torn with the desire to be two places at once, he reached out and plucked Claire off the gurney. "Sheriff Forbes is here. Let's go see her." Claire clung to his hand as he led her back into the waiting room. "And then we'll see if Uncle John can come pick you up."

* * *

"I thought she might like a blanket." The receptionist stepped into the darkened waiting room. She smiled down at Claire who was sound asleep with her head on Damon's lap. "She wouldn't go home?"

He felt the warmth from the blanket seeping into his legs. Maybe the woman wasn't as unfeeling as he'd first believed. She stooped over and tucked the blanket under Claire's chin.

"Nope. She said she had to stay." Damon shook his head as he stroked Claire's hair. He looked up at the clock. Almost two. The waiting room had slowly filled throughout the past hours. Jenna had arrived to drive Claire home, but she'd clung to him so desperately that Damon admitted defeat and let her fall asleep on his lap.

Jenna hadn't left. Now she sat next to Jeremy. At first they'd made an attempt at carrying on a conversation; but as the minutes ticked by, and merged into hours, they just became focused on the clock. Sheriff Forbes sat dozing lightly in the corner next to Matt who'd somehow ended up with the rest of the night off. His blue eyes widened as he saw movement in the hallway. He turned to Damon and nodded just as a doctor stepped through the doorway and hesitated at the size of the group assembled in the small waiting area.

"Mr. Salvatore? Would you like to come with me?" Damon stood and gently eased Claire's head from his lap.

Damon walked through the tiny room well-aware all eyes were on him. He stopped and looked at Jenna.

"I'll watch her." She motioned for Damon to follow the young blond man.

"Let's go this way." He led Damon to a darkened conference room. The light clicked on as the men stepped inside. "I'm Doctor Herrington." He extended his hand in greeting.

Damon couldn't wait any longer. "How is Elena?"

"Why don't you sit down?" Dr. Herrington nodded at the table as he pulled out a chair. "Your wife is stable now." He folded his hands and leaned forward. "That's important." He waited for some sign of comprehension to show on Damon's face. "But she's going to need surgery. She's lost a lot of blood - both from the internal bleeding and the injury to her neck."

"Her neck?" Damon immediately snapped to attention.

"It looks like she must have cut herself leaning against the broken window. She was very lucky. It just missed the jugular vein. But she almost bled out. It was touch and go for a while. We've given her a few units of blood already, and her condition is improving."

He waited to see if Damon was taking in all the information.

"We believe she's still bleeding internally somewhere. We know she punctured her lung. She did a very good job of protecting your daughter, but the gear shift did quite a bit of damage to her. We need to get her into surgery as quickly as possible."

"Well, then, let's go. What are you waiting on?" Damon blinked back at him. If time was of the essence, why were they standing here talking? "Do I need to sign something? If you're worried about the money, I promise we can afford whatever she needs."

"There's a complication. We haven't been able to take any x-rays." Dr. Herrington narrowed his eyes as Damon.

"What else is wrong? Why haven't you done x-rays?" The words threatened to hang in his throat.

"Are you aware your wife is pregnant?"

Damon rubbed his hand over his face. Keeping up with the four kids' schedules left him little time to pay too much attention to the calendar. When he thought back, though, they shouldn't have been able to make love on Thanksgiving. He should have been paying more attention. He'd just been grateful for the opportunity they had. "No. We didn't know."

"I'd say she's about six or seven weeks. Possibly more." The doctor drew in a breath. "She's had a lot of trauma to her abdomen. We're going to do everything we can, but I need your consent to operate."

"Do whatever you need to do." He looked at the doctor's concerned expression. Damon had never been more afraid.

"Would you like to see her first?"

"Can I?"

"Just for a minute. You understand she's not awake."

"I know."

Only one curtained area was in use, and it was filled with activity. He stopped short as he stepped to the side of the bed. If he hadn't been told that was Elena, he wasn't sure he would have recognized her. Her face was bloodied and swollen. A breathing tube was taped to one cheek. He looked at all the tubes and wires and could only find one place safe to touch. He stroked her cheek with two fingertips. "Hey there." He struggled to keep his voice light. "They're going to take really good care of you."

He leaned down and kissed her closed eyelid. "Please don't leave me."

He ran his hand over her arm as he felt someone step to his side.

"We need to go now." An unfamiliar nurse pulled him back from Elena's side.

He stepped back and watched as they wheeled the bed...and his life...down the corridor.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: Yes, it's short, but I've been hit by an unexpected round of edits in my "real" world. I'd originally intended to combine this chapter with the next, but I didn't want to leave the cliffhanger any longer. Sorry. I'll try to have the next chapter up later this week. (For those interested, I've recently updated my TVD S6 fanfic - Promises Kept.)

I still don't own TVD.

* * *

Damon sat alone in the ICU waiting room. After much cajoling, bribery, and a promise of one of Ginger's puppies from Matt, Claire finally agreed to leave with Jenna. Despite a moment of clarity when Damon had first arrived, as time wore on, Claire's description of the evening had become more and more sketchy.

Maybe there was something out there.

Maybe it was just an animal. A deer had run in front of the car. Of course it had been a deer. Elena was just driving too fast…and she hit a deer.

Claire needed to believe it was a deer.

And suddenly all of Mystic Falls' animal attacks fell into place. He finally understood the excuses and the half-truths. The residents weren't just trying to protect the town's reputation – they were trying to protect their own sanity.

Because what person in their right mind would really admit to monsters in the dark.

Damon knew that he was in the midst of a room of them.

Matt.

Ric.

Jenna.

Jeremy.

Bonnie.

They'd all been there. They'd all been watching as Claire had tried to describe what happened to Sheriff Forbes. The only thing she'd been clear about was that she

was desperately afraid of something in the fog. When Damon asked her to tell him about the fog, she'd just said Elena was driving fast to get away from something that seemed to be following the car.

At the time, he hadn't shown his fear. He couldn't. They'd never let Claire in on the secret. She wasn't old enough. She wasn't ready.

But try as hard as he might, he simply couldn't pass it off as some random chance. Not since they'd found the bodies in the woods. And not since he'd seen the blood soaked bandage on Elena's neck. The vampires were back.

Everyone in the room knew it too. Even without looking at each other, the knowledge of what they were facing electrified the air around them.

Funny. For decades…over a century, really…he was the reason people were afraid. He was and monsters like him.

Now the fear lay like an iron weight in the pit of his stomach – a vise trying to squeeze every last bit of oxygen from his lungs.

The vampires were back.

And they'd come after Elena…and Claire.

But was it random? Could she have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time? Or was the whole mystery illness somehow planted to draw her away from the rest of the family?

Damon needed it to be a random occurrence. Because, if not, and they were coming for his family, Damon didn't know what to do. For the first time since he'd held the bottle to his lips years ago, he regretted his choice to regain his humanity.

He still didn't understand why they'd be here for Elena.

Their battle years ago should have convinced the vampires that Mystic Falls was far from a place of refuge for them. Why would they risk coming to an area where the residents both knew about the vampires and were prepared to fight them? He had an even more pressing question...why now?

He knew he'd have to re-convene the Council, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment. Damon didn't have the mental strength to deal with the vampire problem right now. He was physically and emotionally drained. He absently looked at the clock. 7 am. Just twelve hours ago, he'd been standing next to Santa Claus as he listened to Emma rattle off her Christmas wish list.

A nurse came to stand in the doorway. She smiled in Damon's direction. "Mr. Salvatore, she's waking up. Would you like to come see her?"

Damon didn't have to be asked twice. He'd seen her briefly after she'd come out of surgery. They'd inserted a chest tube to release the pressure from the punctured lung, and they'd taken the breathing tube out. She'd still been so very pale, despite the blood bag hanging at the side of the bed.

He stood, feeling the weight of four pairs of eyes staring at him. It was incredible how much things had stayed the same through the years. Minus a few gray hairs, they could have been assembled trying to fight the vampire threat that gripped the town during Elena's high school years.

None of them could have predicted they'd be back here like this again.

And Damon never dreamed Elena would be a target again. They'd fixed that years ago. She was of no more use to a vampire than any other human. So why was she lying in a bed at the end of the hall?

He turned and walked into the room the nurse indicated. The rhythmic beeping of the monitors was reassuring - despite how frail Elena appeared as he looked in the hospital bed.

"Talk to her. Hold her hand." The nurse brushed her hand along Damon's shoulder as she walked from the room. "Let her know you're here."

Damon entwined his the fingers of his right hand with her limp ones and squeezed his eyes tightly shut to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. Dr. Herrington assured him that she would be fine, but it would be quite a while before she was back to normal. And, he hadn't wanted to ask, but the doctor seemed to read his mind...she was still pregnant. It would be touch and go for a while to see if she stayed that way.

Cautiously, he reached out and ran his left hand over her still smooth abdomen. She'd barely been eating over the past few weeks. He'd assumed it was stress over the coming deadline for her latest book. Chalk that one up to being an overworked mayor. Holiday season had meant one civic event after another.

But he should have noticed. Noticed something. Could Elena have suspected? She hadn't said a word.

He'd meant what he said weeks ago. He couldn't believe he was going to be lucky enough to have another baby with Elena. Now he just had to wait for her to wake up so he could tell her.

"That tickles." Elena coughed.

Damon stood up so quickly, he knocked the chair over. He hadn't done something like that in ages. "Hey."

He squeezed her hand as she blinked in confusion.

"What? What's going on? What happened? Ohmygod! Damon, it was…" Her eyes darted around the room. "Where's Claire?" The sound of the beeps from the monitor became closer together as her pulse sped. Dr. Herrington had stressed the necessity of keeping her calm over the next 48 hours.

"She's fine." He let go of her hand and stroked her cheek. "Jenna took her home. Barely a scratch on her." This was not the time to tell Elena about Claire's apparent bite to the neck.

"But the car."

"I know. You flipped it when you drove off the road and almost into Drowning Creek." He reached for her hand. "Everything's going to be alright. Do you remember anything?"

"I hit something. I hit someone." Elena tried to sit up and winced in pain. Damon gently guided her back down on the bed.

"The wreck wasn't your fault."

She was panting now. What little color she'd had in her face drained away. For a minute, Damon thought she was going to be sick. "It was a vampire."

"Shhh." He held a finger to her lips. "I know that too. Lay back down. Try to relax."

"Relax? Damon, a vampire attacked my car tonight. They could have killed Claire."

"But they didn't. Claire's fine. She thinks you hit a deer. You're fine." He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. He tried to use the same tone in his voice as when one of the twins woke up with a nightmare.

Elena looked at him as if he'd been the one who'd hit his head during the wreck. "Then why are you so calm?"

"Because you've been through a lot today. You just got out of surgery. I'd like to make sure the nurses don't kick me out." He gave a weak attempt at doing his eye thing. "And the doctor asked me to try to keep you from getting upset."

"I'm fine." Elena tried to sit up again.

"You have a ruptured spleen. Well, no you don't, they took that out. You punctured your lung, and you have a concussion. You seriously need to relax before someone comes in and knocks you back out."

"But Damon... You shouldn't be here. You need to get the council together." She was fighting to sit up with every ounce of strength she possessed…and some she didn't have. He'd forgotten how strong she could be. "You need to be with the kids. What if one comes to the house? What if one gets in?"

"The kids are fine. They're with Jenna. Kennedy's there too. No one's getting in the house." Nothing he was doing was working. He watched in dismay as her pulse rate continued to climb. Any second now, a nurse was going to come in and tell him to leave.

He really needed Elena to understand why he was so worried about getting her to relax and realized he was going to need to use his strongest weapon. This was probably going to be the only time he'd have a chance to deliver this kind of news, but this isn't how he wanted to do it. Still…desperate times…

"Elena, please. I know you're scared, but I need you to listen to me. Please try to calm down." He leaned over the bed until his face was mere inches from hers. "Have you looked at the calendar lately?"

"What kind of question is that?"

His lips turned up in a hesitant grin. He gently laid his hand atop her belly. "There's a very important reason you need to stay calm."

Elena blinked at him in confusion. He waited. The pain-killers might be making her a little foggy, but he knew she could make the connection.

"Think about it."

After several minutes, she hesitantly shook her head. "No. I can't be."

"But you are. And right now, the baby's fine." He couldn't bring himself to discuss the uncertainty with her. The big _if things go well _that the doctor mentioned.

This baby was going to stay put.

He tenderly brought his lips to hers. The tears he'd fought back all night finally proved to be too much for him and they mingled with Elena's. "You're going to lose your office." He stood up and wiped Elena's cheek with his thumb.

"That's okay." Elena struggled to keep her eyes open. "You're happy about this?" He'd never seen her look so uncertain.

"It's a surprise, but yes. Like you seem to enjoy reminding me, my best friend came from a family of twelve kids. What's one more? Once the doctor says it's okay, I'll show you how happy I am." Damon leaned down for a more passionate kiss. "But for now, I just want you to go back to sleep." He took her hand in his once again and sat down at her bedside. "I'm not going anywhere."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: I have a book due to my editor in 9 days. And then I'm having rather extensive surgery mid-October. I'm going to do my best to get one more update out before then, but I can't guarantee another chapter prior to Halloween. My apologies.

Ratings: Mature - sensitive subject matter, language, adult content, violence (yep, this story's got it all)

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Damon called out to Jackson as he stepped from his car and made his way up the sidewalk. "I thought Kennedy was coming over to babysit."

"Not tonight." Jackson shook his head. "My choices were to drive Kennedy back and forth or come over myself." He shrugged his shoulders. "I have a science project to work on."

"Mmmhmmm." Damon looked skeptical. "And I imagine I can expect Quinn will be here soon to assist with the babysitting duties."

"She is my science partner."

"Of course she is."

"Just think of it as buy one get one free."

"I really don't want to do too much thinking about the two of you being here unsupervised. Maybe you should have brought Kennedy anyway." Damon shook his head, narrowing his eyes at his nephew. Just because Jackson and his girlfriend were both in the top ten of their class at Mystic Falls High School didn't mean they weren't also concerned with extra-curricular activities. He just didn't want them doing those activities on his couch. "You know the drill. I don't mind her being here, but there needs to be daylight between the two of you at all times. These walls can talk...or at least my kids do." Jackson and Quinn had been dating for over a year. At some point during that time, they'd become something of a package deal. If one came over to watch his kids, the other generally wasn't too far behind. Tonight he just didn't want to deal with any more drama.

Or a lecture about the birds and the bees.

Jackson's cheeks flushed faintly pink. "We're just studying Uncle Damon."

"Yeah." Damon gave him a knowing look. "I remember that kind of studying..." He turned as he heard a car door slam shut. Jackson broke into a broad grin as Quinn jogged up the path. She was wearing her purple and white NYU sweatshirt which explained Jackson's new "Future NYU Student" bumper sticker. He wondered how that conversation with Ric and Jenna must have gone. Free ride to Duke or not, NYU had one thing that the school recruiting Jackson couldn't offer – Jackson's girlfriend wasn't attending Duke.

Damon chuckled to himself. Damn, his nephew had it bad... "Hey Quinn. I didn't know you were coming over. Emma will be thrilled."

"I even brought fingernail polish for good behavior." Her long blonde hair was tied in a loose ponytail that rested over one of her shoulders.

"You know my children too well. You may need that before the night's over." He'd spent the better part of the last hour refereeing fights between his children. On a typical night, the Good Ship Salvatore was pretty trouble-free, but the past few week was far from typical.

Honestly, he could hardly blame them. He knew they had to be feeling the stress from Elena being in the hospital. Claire was channeling his brother's inner-drama-king status by complaining that every single thing hurt, and she refused to be left alone in any part of the house. He'd even found her asleep on the floor in Emma's room when he did one last once-over of the house before going to bed last night.

Today, Nathan brought home his first-ever note from his teacher asking if everything was alright at home, verifying that something was very much out of sorts with his bookworm son.

He hated to leave them alone again, but at least Jackson and Quinn were familiar babysitters. No matter what the doctor said, Elena didn't seem to be recovering as quickly as he thought she should have. Her face was still several shades whiter than normal, and when the nurse tried to get her up and walking down the hall, he'd barely made it in time when she blacked out. He'd feel better if he were there with her, even if she said she wanted him to stay home with the kids.

Tonight he'd rather ask for forgiveness instead of permission. And he'd stayed home most of the afternoon. They all had finished their homework, and he even made it to Emma's dance class for the monthly parent observation time.

Damon pulled two twenty-dollar bills from his pocket. "Ok, here's the money for the pizza. The delivery should be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Pizza?" Jackson looked shocked. Dinner was generally one of the perks of babysitting at their house, and Damon seldom resorted to fast food, but this hadn't been a normal day. When Elena had finally kicked him out of her hospital room a little after noon, he'd planned to come home and just take a short nap. The next thing he knew, Brayden was banging on the front door after the bus dropped everyone off.

"Pizza." Damon nodded as he handed Jackson a folded wad of cash. "I've already ordered it. It should be here about 6:30. Everyone's finished with their homework. Nathan just has to do some more silent reading…and I mean silent. They've been told they need to stay upstairs until dinner. After that, you're on your own. If you want to let them play video games, you can."

"We know the drill, Mr. Salvatore." Quinn gave him a reassuring smile. She was going to make an incredible pediatric nurse. She knew just what bribery worked on each of his children. Unfortunately, Emma took more bribery than most – which is what the nail polish was for.

Damon let out a deep breath. "I know you do. I'm sorry. This has been a really long week. They're…not exactly at the best of their behavior. I'll try to be home by nine. If you need something…."

"Don't worry. I told my parents I'd be home after 9. Everything's fine. You just tell Mrs. Salvatore not to worry."

"Yeah, I've got everything under control."

"_We_ have everything under control," Quinn corrected Jackson with a jab of her elbow.

"Thanks, Quinn."

"Tell Mrs. Salvatore I hope she feels better soon. I saw the picture of the car on her news. I can't believe…" Quinn shuffled uncomfortably in the hallway. It was clear she was somewhat at a loss as to what to say.

"I'll do that, thanks." Damon stepped to the bottom of the stairwell. "Hey guys, Quinn and Jackson are here. Y'all be on your best behavior."

"Quinn's here?" Emma appeared at the top of the stairs. She'd definitely found a way to keep herself occupied. When he'd sent her upstairs, she was wearing a simple cotton dress and matching leggings. Now, she'd pulled a flower-covered tutu over her skirt, had wrapped a pink and white boa around her neck, and had placed a rhinestone tiara atop her head. Damon had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Did she bring the sparkly polish?" Emma bounced in anticipation, clapping her hands.

Quinn stepped next to Damon. "Would I ever forget the sparkle polish?" Damon marveled at the patience she had with his children. Before Quinn was added to the package deal, no non-family members were brave enough to tackle his brood.

Jackson stood at the edge of the entryway. "Uncle Damon, you can go. We've got this."

"Thanks." He pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it. "Call me if you need anything."

"We'll do that." Jackson reached down and picked up Molly and scratched behind her ears. He motioned to the door and waved Damon through.

* * *

Damon's phone rang in his pocket as he paused at the stop sign at the end of his street. He felt his shoulders tighten. He was beginning to hate his cell phone. Shifting in his seat, he dug for his phone and answered it without looking at the Caller ID. "Are they already out of control?"

"Damon?" Jenna sounded confused.

"Sorry. I thought you were Jackson."

"Ummm...no."

"Jenna, is everything ok?" She'd arrived at the hospital shortly after he'd left. He knew she planned to stay until he arrived.

"How far away are you?" He could tell Jenna was stalling.

"Ten minutes or so. Depends on the traffic."

"You're going to want to break a few traffic rules."

* * *

"What happened?" Damon marched through the doors, his anger barely contained.

"I don't know." Jenna's face was as pale as he'd ever seen her, and she looked honestly confused. They were the only two in the surgery waiting room. Jenna didn't even try to walk to the chairs to sit. "Elena seemed like she was going from bad to worse. She couldn't get comfortable, and she kept holding onto her side. The nurse had been in a few minutes earlier to give her some pain medicine. She said it was just the cracked rib and there wasn't anything she could do. I told her she needed to do something, so we were waiting for a doctor to come by…and then… Elena was trying to pretend like she was alright, but then she said she thought she was going to be sick." Jenna cringed at the memory. "I was afraid to let her get up. I buzzed for a nurse and grabbed the trash can." Jenna was a mom. She'd made it through more stomach bugs than she could count, but nothing had prepared her for what came next. "She started throwing up."

"But she hadn't eaten anything."

"I know." Jenna squinted her eyes closed. "It was all blood. Once she started, it was like she couldn't stop." Damon looked more closely at Jenna. Her purple sweater was spotted with tiny red dots. "I rang the buzzer again, but I didn't get an answer. I ran into the hall, and I guess I started screaming. I finally got a nurse's attention. By the time I came back in, Elena was unconscious. Everything happened so fast then." Tears rimmed Jenna's eyes. "The nurse pressed a call button and the room filled up. The doctor took her straight out of the room to surgery." She looked down at her watch. "It wasn't more than twenty minutes ago. No one's told me anything except to wait here."

Damon wanted to be mad at someone...anyone...but not Jenna. Studying her, he could see she was just as frightened as he was. Through the years, Jenna had only become more close with Elena. He couldn't imagine what watching that had been like. He was glad Elena wasn't alone, but he desperately wished he'd been the person with her. One thing was sure, he wasn't leaving the hospital again until Elena left with him.

"I'm so sorry Damon. I didn't know what else to do..."

"No." He shook his head. "You did everything you could." He wrapped an arm around her and wasn't surprised to discover she was shaking. "You sit down. I'll go try to find out what's going on." He stepped into the hall and looked around. No one was sitting behind the desk outside the doors to the surgical suite. He waited in the hallway for a few minutes before he realized whoever was supposed to be at the desk must be on a break. Unwilling to wait any longer, he walked down the corridor until he finally came upon someone wearing a hospital nametag.

"Can I help you sir?" The woman carrying a tub filled with vials looked questioningly at him. "You're really not supposed to be in this area."

"Yes." He struggled not to vent his anger at the young woman. "I need someone to tell me how my wife is."

"Is she a patient here?"

He blinked back at her. If Elena hadn't been a patient here, then why was he in the hallway. He bit back a sarcastic reply. Trying to keep his voice non-threatening, he replied, "Yes. She was in ICU. Something happened. They just brought her down to surgery."

"I'm sure someone will be out to meet you when they know something." The woman started to walk away.

"Um." He reached out and caught her arm. "That's not good enough. I'm going to need you to call someone who can tell me something." His blue eyes flashed in her direction.

"Sure." For an instant, she looked at him with the fear he'd often seen in the eyes of his prey. He didn't want to frighten her, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. Someone was going to tell him what had happened to Elena. She stepped back closer to the door. "Just let me drop off these samples in the lab, and I'll page someone in the surgery area." She patted his arm. "If you can just go back to the waiting area, someone will meet you there. I'm sorry, but it's the best I can do."

Damon took a breath. He called on the whole reserve of his experience as mayor. He'd often found himself caught in situations with heightened emotions, but they seldom involved his family. Nonetheless, he knew she was right. "Thank you." He reluctantly turned back to return to the waiting room. Jenna looked up at him expectantly. Seething with frustration, he simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "All I could find was a lab tech. She's supposed to page someone for us."

"You okay?"

"Not really." Damon leaned back in his chair and stared at the clock. He watched as the minute hand marched slowly around the dial.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Thirty...

Damon cleared his throat and stood up. "I'm going to go try again." He strode out the doorway only to come face to face with a tall gray haired man wearing surgical scrubs.

"Mr. Salvatore?" The man peered around the doorway into the waiting room.

Damon nodded and folded his arms over his chest.

"Will you come with me?" The man nodded in the direction of the hallway Damon had walked down earlier.

Damon turned back and looked at Jenna.

"I'll be right here." She sat back in her seat.

"I'm Doctor Morrison." He nodded at Damon but didn't offer his hand. "I'm the surgeon who operated on your wife."

"Operated..." Damon repeated. He ran his hand over his forehead. "What the hell happened?"

Dr. Morrison leaned against the wall. He shook his head. "Your wife had a great deal of abdominal damage when they brought her in. Apparently, this was overlooked during the initial surgery."

Damon felt his jaws clench. "Someone missed it, and now she's down here again?"

He met Damon's concerned eyes. "We were able to cauterize the vessel. She should be fine now."

"What if there's more damage you don't know about?"

"There's not." He spoke with authority. "I used the scope to do a very thorough exam. You can be certain we've caught everything now." Damon bit back the question about why they didn't do that very thorough exam the day before. "Your wife wasn't stable enough to tolerate a more extensive exam during her first surgery." Dr. Morrison anticipated Damon's question. "Today she was. I wanted to avoid a third trip to the OR. Would you like to come see her?"

Damon nodded and followed the physician as he passed his nametag over a black square on the wall. The doors buzzed and opened automatically. They walked past the nurse's station. Damon scarcely noticed the other people lying in the beds hooked up to various beeping monitors. His attention was fixed on the woman with long dark hair lying in the bed in the far corner of the cavernous room.

"We only used light sedation. She should be waking up shortly." A nurse stepped forward to block Damon's path. Dr. Morrison shook his head and motioned to Elena. "You can stay with her for a few minutes. She'll recover more easily if she has a familiar face beside her."

Damon stood hesitantly at Elena's side. He turned and looked back over his shoulder. "Thank you."

Dr. Morrison was already walking away. He stopped and a hint of emotion flashed in his dark eyes. "You just take care of her. Grayson was a good friend of mine."

"Um. I will. Thanks." Damon cleared his throat. "I hadn't realized…"

"I first met Elena when Grayson and Miranda brought her home. I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"Thank you. Really." Damon realized he and the doctor were both on the same side. Elena was lucky to be alive. The first surgeon had said it himself. Now he believed it.

"Have a good night, Mr. Salvatore."

A nurse carried a chair to his side. "You're probably going to want this."

"Thanks." He sat in the chair and held Elena's hand as he gently stroked her arm. He concentrated on watching her chest rise and fall. He registered the beeping of the monitors in the background, but he didn't pay attention to them. After a few minutes, Elena's eyes opened ever so slightly.

He stood and brushed her hair back from her forehead. He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "You know, if you were so ready for me to come back, you just needed to have Jenna call me."

Elena's lips curled into a faint smile as her shoulders shook while she fought back a laugh. "That's exactly what happened."

"I know." He bent down ad kissed her cheek. "And just so you know, I'm not leaving here again until you're with me. No arguments. I had to talk Liz out of giving me a speeding ticket tonight."

"What about..."

Damon placed a finger on her lips. "We'll figure it out." He took a deep breath. "But I'm staying with you."

"Excuse me. I need to do an exam. If you'll just go out to the waiting area…" The nurse gave him a very no-nonsense look. "She should be back in her room in about thirty minutes. You can see her again then."

Damon reluctantly dropped Elena's hand and turned to walk back to the waiting room. He was sure that Jenna was beside herself with worry by now. He hadn't even made it completely in the room before Jenna was at his side.

"How is she?"

"Groggy, but she's going to be okay."

"Damon." Jenna was moving into lecture-mode. "I've already called Jeremy. He's on his way to pick up Brayden and Nathan. Quinn's helping Claire and Emma pack. Jeremy's going to take the boys until Elena goes home, and I'm taking the girls."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. We'll keep the kids until Elena goes home."

* * *

"Mommy!"

Damon stepped in front of Emma to block her path. "Whoa! Freeze. What did Aunt Jenna tell you?"

Emma stopped mid-step and hung her head, when she spoke, it was barely louder than a whisper. "Sorry. Don't knock Mommy over. And no big hugs."

Elena stopped in the doorway and smiled down at her daughter. "I'm not going to break." She held her arm out to Emma. "Just take it slow."

Emma tiptoed to Elena's side and gently wrapped her arms around her.

"Ooohhh, such pretty nails. Purple was my favorite color when I was your age. Did Quinn paint them?"

Emma's head bobbed up and down. "She did Claire's too." Emma turned to point at her sister currently halfway down the stairwell.

"Mine are just pink - no glitter." She held up her hands for Elena to see. "Do you like it?" Claire's face was caught halfway between happy and sad.

"They're lovely. You know, you're old enough that I can buy you some polish if you want."

"That's okay. I'm not really a nail-polish kind of girl."

Only then did Elena notice the decorations filling the living room. A huge banner hung from the fireplace mantle. Red and green letters spelled out "Welcome Home, Mom." Balloons and streamers wrapped the stairwell bannister. She was distinctly reminded of when she'd been gone to summer camp for a month her freshman year of high school. "I love it! Did Uncle Jeremy help?"

Jeremy stepped out from the kitchen. "It gave them something to do." Nathan and Brayden thudded into the room.

"Mom!"

Damon caught Brayden by the back of the shirt. "Remember, careful."

"I was being careful."

"That's what I was afraid of." He reached out and took Elena's arm as he guided her inside. "Sorry we're late Jeremy." Night had long-since fallen. "They weren't in any hurry to discharge her. Never go to the hospital on a Saturday."

"I'll try to remember that." Jeremy laughed. "They've all eaten and done their homework for the weekend. Hannah sent dinner over if you'd like. Pot roast with mashed potatoes."

Elena's skin took on the faintest shade of green. "Um...not right now. Thanks, though." She blinked in surprise as she looked up from her seat on the couch. "You put up our tree?"

"They were getting antsy. I didn't think you'd mind."

"No. Not at all." She reached out and caught hold of her brother's hand. "Thank you. For everything. I'm so happy you moved back."

"So am I." He looked up at Damon. "But now I've gotta go."

"Thanks." Damon shook Jeremy's hand and then followed him to the door.

"How is she?" Jeremy studied his sister now surrounded by her children on the couch. They each wanted to tell her exactly everything she'd missed and how each of the others had gotten into trouble over the past week. She was always thin, but Elena appeared to have lost ten pounds while she was in the hospital.

"She's going to be alright. The ride home took a lot out of her."

"Pain killers making her sick again? She doesn't look good." There was a reason she'd had a bottle of unused pain medicine in her bathroom cabinet years ago. She hated taking the stuff.

"Something like that." He clapped his hand on Jeremy's back. "Tell Hannah thanks too."

"I'll do that."

"Okay everybody." Damon pointed to the clock. "One movie, and then it's time for bed." He flipped through their collection of videos until he found Elf. "If you'll give your mom some room, I'll even make popcorn." He started the movie. Looking back at the couch, he smiled as Emma rested her head in Elena's lap. "You sure you don't want anything?"

Elena shook her head vigorously.

"Hot tea?"

Elena closed her eyes and tried to assess her stomach. During the week she'd been in the hospital, morning sickness had kicked in with full force. She was denying it, but Damon could see the way she was fighting to keep the nausea at bay. Her doctor told her that was an excellent sign, but it didn't help her still-healing ribs. Studying Damon's concerned face, she relented. "Maybe some tea."

In a few minutes' time, Damon brought her a steaming mug of peppermint tea before he retreated into the kitchen. As he ate his meal far away from Elena, he listened to whispered updates that kept going long into the airing of the movie. Listening to each child in turn, she absently ran her fingers through Emma's hair while Claire leaned against her leg. Nathan and Brayden laid on their stomachs close to the television. The lights from the Christmas tree casting multi-colored shadows across the floor.

* * *

"Good night, Claire." Damon flicked off the switch of her bedside lamp.

"Mom's going to be okay, isn't she? She still doesn't look so good."

"She'll be fine."

"She got hurt because of me."

"What?"

"I heard the doctors say it. She was protecting me, and that's why she got hurt so badly. If I hadn't been in the car, she'd be okay."

"You can't blame yourself." Damon knew something had been bothering his daughter throughout the evening. He thought this was probably what was wrong. "She got hurt because of the wreck – not you." He nodded as he sat on the edge of her bed. "She's going to be fine. The doctor said she's just going to need to take it easy a few more days. We can help her out, can't we?"

"Yeah." Her deep green eyes beamed up at him. "I can help with Emma and Brayden."

"I know you can." He brushed a kiss atop her head. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Now go to sleep. No worrying. And no more blaming yourself."

Her eyes still didn't look convinced. Sometimes she was so much like his brother that he wanted to scream. "I'll try, Dad."

Damon walked through the hallway and was relieved to hear the sounds of deep breathing coming from all the bedrooms. As usual, Claire was the only one still awake. He needed more sleep when he was a vampire than she did now.

He stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He looked around for Elena and wasn't surprised to find her in the bathroom looking sadly down at the tub.

"Doctor said no baths for a week."

"Not till the stitches come out. I know." She glumly dropped her shirt to the floor. "I'll just take a shower. Raising my arm still hurts." She winced as she tested the arm above her broken ribs.

"Well, looks like you're going to need a little help." Damon gave her a coy grin as he stepped out of his jeans. "If you don't mind..."

"I'm not sure if I'm feeling that much better."

"I'll be gentle." He turned the faucet on and tested the water as he shrugged off his shirt. He stepped into the shower first before reaching out to take her hand to steady her.

Elena smiled as the warm water cascaded over her skin. True to his word, he carefully poured shampoo into his hand before he massaged it into her scalp. She stepped more fully into the flow of water to rinse the suds from her hair, and he ran his fingers through her chocolate brown hair to make sure there were none left over.

As he smoothed Elena's favorite bath gel over her back, his fingers skimmed the edges of her breasts. Morning sickness wasn't the only thing that had set in during her hospital stay. Elena's breasts had filled and taken on the appearance he associated with carrying his child. He carefully cupped them in his hands and stepped behind her until she was leaning against his chest. He leaned down and kissed the nape of her neck.

"Damon." Elena chided.

"I know." He cautiously ran his hand over her still-flat belly. "Two more weeks." He stepped back and knelt behind her as he finished washing her legs. He was going to need a second shower tonight...a very cold one. Stepping out of the shower, he reached out and pulled a fluffy white towel from the rack.

"I can dry myself off." Elena rolled her eyes at him.

He wrapped the towel around her and looked deeply into her eyes. "But it's more fun when I do it." He tugged his own towel free from the towel rack and wrapped it around his waist. Walking into the bedroom, he pulled Elena's favorite nightgown out of their dresser drawer. He waited as she tugged it over her head. He folded the covers back over the bed and slid in to wait as she brushed her hair. "You coming?"

Elena placed the hairbrush down on the vanity. She cautiously eased herself down on her pillow. Once she seemed settled, he scooted next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She lifted her head and rested it on his shoulder. "I never had a chance to tell you."

"Tell me what?" He melted into her deep brown eyes.

He smiled a lazy grin - the fatigue from nights spent sleeping in the hospital room's recliner beginning to sneak up on him. "How happy I am." He ran his hand over her stomach before reaching for her hand. In normal times, he loved his wife with a passion that surprised even himself. But there was something special when she was carrying his child. He loved watching her change...her stomach round with the life they were expecting. Having kids was never part of his plan when he was a vampire, but now he couldn't imagine life without them…or life without Elena.

"Really?" Elena nestled deeper into the nook of his arm.

Damon stroked her cheek and fixed his blue eyes on hers. "I've never been more serious." He leaned down and lightly kissed her lips.

"I love you." Elena craned her neck up once again in search of his lips.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "And I love you."


	9. Chapter 9

New author's note: I made it through surgery, but my recovery has been a little "bumpy." I'm now allowed to be upright a bit more, and I've been testing out my stamina on this chapter. It didn't need too many changes from its original version. I hope to get back on track soon.

Original A/N: Not much to say here in the way of an intro. It's Christmas at the Salvatore and Saltzman's. Jeremy's family is out of town, so hopefully there aren't too many little ones running around to keep track of.

Jackson, Kennedy, Madison, and Reagan are Jenna and Alaric's kids. (Quinn is Jackson's girlfriend.)

Claire, Brayden, Nathan, and Emma are Damon and Elena's kids.

There is a small jump in time in the latter part of the chapter. Hopefully it isn't anything that will leave you confused.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews and support this story has received. Writing something like this is so much more worthwhile when I know people are enjoying the story.

Rating: M - adult content, violence, mild language, sensitive subject matter

* * *

The remains of a tray of cinnamon rolls sat in the midst of the dining room table. Unfinished glasses of juice sat long-abandoned in the excitement of Christmas morning. Damon gingerly stepped through the discarded wrapping paper now littering his living room floor. "We're leaving for Jenna and Ric's in five minutes. Hurry it up everybody. Let's move."

"Ready!" Brayden leapt off the stairs and positioned himself in front of his father.

Damon slowly circled his son. "What part of you can take _one_ of your presents with you is that?" He pointed out Brayden's bulging pockets and Transformer in each hand.

"They're all Transformers." Brayden grinned hopefully, his bright blue eyes sparkling. "Only one is new. I have exactly one present with me." He held up the bright red fire truck.

"You're going to be a lawyer someday."

"That's what Mom always tells me."

Caught on a technicality. By child number four, Damon had learned to word things with no loopholes, but he had other things on his mind this morning. "You got lucky this time." Damon ruffled Brayden's dark hair as he began to climb the stairs. "Wait here. I'm going to see if your mom's ready." He carefully mounted the stairs while trying not to spill the mug of tea in his hands. Even with the lid, he splashed a bit of the hot liquid down his hands. As he opened their bedroom door, he heard Elena sigh just before the toilet flushed. He came around the corner into the bathroom just as she'd finished splashing water on her face. "Are you going to make it?"

"Right now, that's debatable." She placed her elbows on either side of the sink and leaned her forehead into her hands.

He stepped close to her and ran his hand over her back. "I can take the kids by myself. We could tell everyone you weren't feeling up to the trip."

Elena shook her head. "And then Jenna would be here in five minutes. No, I don't want to ruin everyone's Christmas morning." She slowly stood and closed her eyes.

So far, so good. At least she didn't seem to be judging the distance to the toilet. If she could stand upright and drink a few sips of tea, they might actually make it. Whether or not she'd pass the Jenna-test later was still up in the air. Their kids didn't notice she hadn't eaten breakfast, but his almost-mother-in-law would notice Elena skipping the meal, especially if Jenna made extra baked French toast. But Elena didn't need to be reminded of that now.

"If you're sure." He looked back at Elena for confirmation. "Everyone's ready. I even braided Emma's hair."

"This I have to see." Elena took a step toward the doorway and hesitated.

"Just a second," Damon pressed the cup into Elena's hand. "It's peppermint. It shouldn't make you sick. Two sips before you leave this room."

Elena frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Elena, you haven't held food down in over a week. If you don't want them to engrave your name on your own personal room at Mystic Falls General, you at least need to drink something."

"Alright." She held the steaming cup to her lips and flinched as she took her first sip. "Next time, not so hot. I'll finish it by the time we get to Jenna's."

* * *

The Saltzman house now very much resembled the mess left in the Salvatore house. Since presents could only be opened after brunch, the table was strewn with the remainders of a quickly eaten meal. The combined families had long-since learned that life was just simpler if they saved their main Christmas meal for dinner after all the kids had played with their new toys for hours.

As the pile of presents emptied from under the tree, Alaric stood to get a trash bag to clean the minor explosion of wrapping paper, bows and ribbons that now covered the floor.

"Oh, we forgot one!" Claire slid behind the tree and tugged out a present wrapped in shiny gold paper. Holding it in front of her, she proudly handed it to her mother.

"What is this?" Elena turned the heavy box over in her hands.

"We wanted to surprise you." Emma chewed her lip and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"So we hid it here at Jenna's." Nathan slid onto Damon's lap to get a better view.

Elena looked suspiciously at all the curious faces around her. "You all know what this is?"

Braydon leaned over the back of the couch. "Yep. Open it!" Brayden reached out to help.

"Not so fast." Elena pulled the present away. She gently tugged at the tape sealing the paper. "What is this?" She glanced at Damon out of the corner of her eye.

"You'll have to open it to see."

She pulled the paper away to reveal a coffee-colored leather album.

"Open it!" Nathan encouraged.

Cracking the book open, she was surprised to see her favorite picture from the photo shoot they'd done in August. When Damon had run for re-election, they'd taken a variety of family pictures to use on the campaign ad. They'd decided this picture with Damon and Elena seated on an oversized log in Fell Park was too casual, but Elena had loved it. Claire leaned over Damon's shoulder and had her arms wrapped around his neck. Brayden stood next to Elena and looked at Nathan balancing on the log behind him. Emma sat cross-legged on the ground in front of Elena and Damon. While the photographer had been posing everyone else, she gathered a bundle of dandelions and piled them in her lap. Trying to entertain herself, she had just blown on one, sending the little puffs of down into the air around them.

Elena had wanted a copy of the picture after she'd seen the proof, but the photographer said it had somehow been deleted from the memory card. "Is this why Helen couldn't give me a copy?"

"Something like that. Keep going." Damon tapped the book and smiled.

Elena turned the pages and discovered pictures that weren't at all familiar. A mixture of black and white and color images, she could tell the photographs had been taken in the fall. Pointing to a picture of Brayden and Nathan rolling in a pile of fallen leaves, she asked, "When did y'all take these?"

"You're out of town a lot." Brayden laughed.

"Really a lot." Emma added emphatically.

"It was really pretty simple to do it." Claire added from the corner of the room.

"I guess I am." She pulled Brayden close to her and kissed his cheek.

"Ewww." He crinkled his nose as he backed away.

"Do you like it?" Emma peeked at the book in her mother's lap.

Elena sniffed and wiped at the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I love it." She glanced at Jenna. "Did you know about this?"

Jenna nodded and laughed. "Someone had to co-ordinate what they were all wearing. Trust me, you didn't want to see what Damon picked out."

"They matched."

"But they looked like they were heading out for a day at the office." Jenna shook her head at the memory.

"He was going to make me wear a suit." Nathan recoiled at the thought.

"A suit, really?" Elena stifled a laugh, turning to her husband.

"He looks good with a bow tie."

"I'm sure you did." Elena winked at her son. "Thank you. _All _of you."

"You're welcome." Jenna answered for the group, and the spell was broken. All the offspring peeled away in search of new toys to play with, and the volume level in the living room multiplied. Jackson flinched and pointed at the stairs, clearly seeking a respite from the younger members of the family.

Jenna stood and tried to conceal a yawn before she motioned in the direction of the kitchen. "Come on, why don't you help me in the kitchen."

"Um." Damon reached out and lightly held Elena in place. "I'm not so sure..."

"I remember she's still not supposed to do much, but she can at least keep me company in the kitchen while you two keep them under control. Trust me, I'm entrusting y'all with the more difficult jobs." She pointed at kids spread out throughout the living room. Kennedy was trying to stealthily follow her brother up the stairs. "Good luck!"

Jenna walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Elena. She motioned to the bar stool pushed up to the center island as she turned on the radio. Leaning against the countertop, she folded her arms in front of her and glared. "How far along are you?"

Elena blinked at Jenna in surprise. "What?"

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't even try to pretend." She stared at her niece. She held up a hand and began to list off her reasons while holding up a finger for each one. "You failed the alcohol test. I know you. You never turn down a mimosa. And don't try to tell me you can't drink with your pain meds. Damon already told me you stopped taking them." She held up a second finger. "You knocked Reagan over while you were running to the bathroom earlier. You didn't eat anything - not even Ric's homemade sausage rolls or the baked French toast. I made those just for you because I know those are your favorite." Jenna held up a third finger. "And, Damon's doing his protective-Damon thing." Jenna held up five fingers.

"His _protective Damon_ thing?"

"It's cute, really." Jenna chuckled to herself. "When you're pregnant, he hovers... Well, he always hovers a little bit over you, but this is different. He looks like he's ready to go all vampire on anyone who gets too close, and he's not a vampire anymore." She raised an eyebrow in Elena's direction. "So, how many weeks?"

"Nine." Elena finally admitted without meeting Jenna's eyes.

"That means..."

"Yes it does." Elena nodded to Jenna as her aunt took a seat next to her. "I was pregnant when I had the wreck. That's why we haven't told anyone."

"Is everything ok?" All hints of teasing or irritation had disappeared from Jenna's voice. She wrapped her arm around Elena and held her close. She couldn't believe Elena had been going through this alone.

"We think so. I've been to the doctor more often this month than I think I have in an entire year. All the bloodwork looks good." She shrugged her shoulders. "He says that the morning sickness is a good sign. We get to hear the heartbeat next week."

"You should have told me." Jenna looked earnestly at Elena. "I want to be able to help you. Tomorrow, Jackson and Quinn are going to work out in the morning. Kennedy's already babysitting for Hannah. I'll come over and get your crew and take everybody ice skating. I promised Emma and Nathan I'd take them for their birthday. Adding Claire and Brayden won't be any trouble."

"Are you sure?"

Jenna stroked Elena's hair. "I want you to get some rest. And try to eat something. Promise me that."

"Rest is easy. Food..." Elena left the rest of her sentence incomplete.

* * *

"So, Jenna knows." Damon closed the bedroom door behind him after he'd finished putting all the kids to bed. The kids never slept past 5 on Christmas morning, but that meant they were happy to go to bed a little early that night. Damon had come to enjoy their Christmas evening tradition.

"She actually took it pretty well." Elena called out over the sound of the draining bathtub. She stepped into her closet and came out wearing her favorite white fluffy robe. "Volunteered to take everyone ice skating tomorrow so I could sleep. I should have told her weeks ago."

"I distinctly remember making that exact suggestion." Damon leaned against the bathroom doorway. "How did you think she was going to take it?"

"I don't know." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "This is baby number 5. When they found out about the twins, I have a distinct memory of Ric offering to turn you back into a vampire so this wouldn't happen again."

"Well, we definitely seem to have figured out how this works." He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms lightly around her. He met her eyes in the still slightly foggy mirror and smirked.

"What?" Elena spun in his embrace and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Did you forget something?"

"Hmm - what could I have possibly forgotten?" Elena teased.

"I don't believe I saw a present from you under the tree."

"I forgot to give you your present." She feigned surprise.

"You did." He leaned down and nibbled her ear. "I was hoping it was because we needed a little privacy."

"I don't know. Maybe you didn't get one. After all, you have been naughty this year."

"Have I?"

"Very, very bad." Elena leaned up and seized his lips with hers. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer to her. "But I still got you a present. You just have to unwrap it." She looked suggestively down at her robe.

Damon ran his fingers over her belt and stopped. Before he let a part of his anatomy much lower than his brain take over his reasoning, he stepped back. "But we're not supposed to..."

"That, my dear husband," she ran her hands down his chest, "is the second part of your gift." She stood on her her tip toes and whispered into his ear. "Dr. Meyers said I was cleared to resume normal activities."

"_All _normal activities?"

"Oh yes." Her lips curled into a grin. She reached behind his back and tugged his shirt off.

That was all the prodding Damon needed. He untied her robe and slid it off her shoulders - revealing a very revealing midnight blue halter babydoll nightgown. His breath caught in his chest as he studied the lace top that only emphasized the positive effects pregnancy had on her chest. The bottom tier was almost sheer, and he could clearly see her matching lace panties.

"Do you like your present?"

Damon's answer was lost as he pressed his lips to hers. He fumbled with the waist of his jeans as he led her toward the bed. He loved his present, but she wasn't going to be wearing it for long. Trailing kisses down her neck, he slid to his knees and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her underwear. He pulled them down slowly as he looked up into Elena's eyes. As he stood, he slid his hands up over her stomach and lightly palmed her breasts before he pulled the nightgown over her hair and onto the clothes arrayed on the floor.

He backed onto the bed and held the blankets back for Elena to join him. He pulled her next to him as his lips enveloped hers. In this moment, she needed him just as much as he needed her. Unbridled desire flashed between them. His hands caressed her skin as he regarded her with a mixture of tenderness and passion. He rolled on top of her and gently stroked her hair away from her face as he peered into her chocolate brown eyes. "You have no idea how much I love you." Careful not to put too much weight on her still-tender ribs, he entwined his fingers with hers as he made love to her with a gentleness almost painful in its intensity.

* * *

_**January 6th**_

Thunder rumbled in the distance, startling Elena awake. The first hint of gray light filtered through the edge of the windows. She reached for Damon, but found only a warm spot on the bed beside her.

He peeked through the blinds and came back to bed. "Thundersnow. I'll never get used to that." He pulled her soundly against his side and ran his hand over her bare stomach. They'd heard the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office the day before, and he'd never heard such a reassuring sound. "I'm not sure if they'll be having school today. Need me to stay home?"

"No." Elena stretched and yawned. "We'll be fine. If I need help, I'll call in Quinn for backup."

"You sure?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You just want an excuse to stay home from work and make snowmen."

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

Elena gave him a playful shove. "You're the mayor."

"You had to play the responsible adult card." Damon ran his hand over Elena's stomach. He knew he was imagining it, but he could almost feel the slightest hint of a bulge. "You be good to your mom today." He bent over and kissed her stomach. "She needs to eat. Don't make her sick." He stood and walked to the shower as Elena turned on the television to watch for the list of school closings.

She piled Damon's pillows behind her as she pulled the blankets up over her lap. "Could you toss me my nightgown?"

"Unless you want to go for round two." Damon loved this part of Elena being pregnant. She was almost as easily turned on as he was.

"I'm pretty sure that was about midnight." She pulled the cotton gown over her head. "And that's when I thought the kids were going to school today. If it's snowing, they'll be awake any second." She frowned as she saw Mystic Falls schools scroll across the bottom of the screen. "I'm going back to sleep while I still can." She tugged the blankets over her head and nestled down in the covers.

"Mom! Dad!" A herd of elephants ran down the hallway. Brayden and Nathan tumbled into the room.

"Good call on those recreational activities." Damon pulled the door to the bathroom shut.

"It's snowing!" Nathan jumped onto the bed and began jumping up and down.

"Oh, no jumping." Elena patted the bed.

"Do we have school?" Brayden looked through the window.

Elena shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Nope. They just called it off."

The boys looked at each other and ran from their parents' bedroom. "Awesome!"

"Don't wake up your sisters!" Elena rolled to look at the clock, not even 7. Why weren't they this easy to wake on a normal school day? Elena's words fell on deaf ears and soon she was joined in bed by all four of her children.

"What's for breakfast?" Emma blinked eagerly at Elena.

"I can make oatmeal."

"I think we'll wait for Dad to get out of the shower." Claire seemed to speak for all the kids.

"Well, then, y'all go ... somewhere while I get dressed." Elena pointed to the doorway. "Not outside. I'm not ready to clean slush out of the hallway yet. I at least need coffee first."

"Then hurry up." The twins were already racing down the stairs. "We need to get outside before it's all footprint-y."

"We need to be first!"

* * *

Elena tied Emma's scarf under her chin as she surveyed her children. They'd devoured their pancakes before hustling up the stairs to get dressed. Now, they were more than ready to go outside to play in the snow.

"Start in the backyard. Let's try not to wake everyone on the street." Elena walked into the hall to pull her jacket out of the closet. As she tugged her gloves on, she heard muffled shouts from outside the door.

"No fair!" Nathan stamped his foot.

"What isn't fair?" Elena stepped out the back door as she adjusted her scarf.

Brayden pointed at the ground indignantly. "Someone else has already been in our snow."

"What?" Elena stepped into the ankle-deep snow walked to take a closer look. She swallowed thickly and called out over her shoulder. "Claire, go get your dad. Everyone else, stay on the porch." She turned and studied the broken line of snow leading back to the edge of the woods she'd always loved. Now those very woods seemed sinister as she realized they cloaked a danger to her entire family.

"Elena?" Damon shooed their children inside the house.

Elena didn't answer, she merely pointed at the footsteps in the ground - directly outside their kitchen windows. Not even a dusting of snow filled the tracks despite the still-falling snow. Someone was watching them. And whoever or whatever it was had just left.


	10. Chapter 10

Warnings: M - language, violence, adult content, sensitive subject matter

I don't own TVD. I just take the characters for a spin from time to time.

* * *

"No fair!"

Damon's expression frowned back at him from the mirror as he adjusted his tie. Something had stirred up all the kids already this morning. This was going to be a long day for Elena. When she said he only wanted to stay home so he could play in the snow, he'd only been half-joking.

Their crew in the house all day with snow outside was a lot to handle on the best of days. Elena had only just begun to appear to be feeling somewhat human after the worst of the morning sickness had passed. Even now, he wasn't sure if she was really ready to be on her own with all four.

The shouts from downstairs echoed off the hardwood floor in the hallways. If they ever re-decorated the house, they'd have a lot more carpet just to absorb the noise. Footsteps clomped up the stairs. Not Elena. He studied their cadence. Claire. She gave up on the snow awfully quickly.

Now the twins were shouting. Arguing, but with a touch of whine.

He expected them to be excited about the first snow of the season, but there was an edge that set his nerves on alert. Time to intercede. He backed away his dresser. His oldest daughter's footsteps stopped directly outside his doorway before a terse knock sounded on the doorframe.

"Dad!" Claire rapped again. "Dad!"

"I'm right here." Damon opened the door, studying her expression. If Claire had been his brother, he'd have said Stefan was wearing his worried-vampire face.

"Mom says you need to come outside."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Claire jumped back out the door and Damon followed closely at her heels.

Emma, Brayden, and Nathan stood lining the stone porch like spectators at a traffic accident. They watched as their mother leaned over something in the snow.

Elena looked over her shoulder at him and motioned for him to come closer. "Damon." He recognized that voice. That almost-shake. The timbre of fear. His wife hadn't sounded like that in years. Not since…

She pointed at the ground.

Footprints. Not just a single set. Many impressions. Some stepping on top of the others. Whoever was here, they hadn't stayed in one place.

Their unseen watcher was nervous. Unable to keep still.

Or simply unafraid they'd know how long he'd been here.

Damon studied the numerous footprints in the snow at his feet and then turned his attention back to the ones next to the kitchen window. Far too big for any of the children - they were larger than his own tracks. His eyes followed the trail that extended beyond their property line and seemed to lead all the way back to the woods. "Call Ric."

"But Daddy, it's snowing really hard! Uncle Ric can't drive in this." Always the practical one, Nathan looked up at the heavily falling snow with a concerned expression on his face.

Damon caught hold of Elena's arm. "Tell him to bring his bag. He'll come."

Watching the color drain out of her face made his stomach turn. A wreck on the outskirts of town was one thing. It could be written off, excused as a random coincidence. Not this time. Not with what they knew now. Not with the footprints rapidly disappearing beneath the snow.

Now the danger was here.

Elena gave a tense nod and walked back into the house. Even through the layers of her sweater and her heavy coat, he didn't have to watch too closely to see her hands shaking. Damon didn't think it was from the cold.

Shrieks of laughter echoed from down the street. Obviously his family wasn't the only group of early risers on this cold, snowy day. "Why don't y'all go around front and see if you can get a snowman built to welcome Uncle Ric?"

* * *

Elena picked up the phone and took a breath to steady her voice before she dialed the familiar number. On the third ring, she wasn't surprised to hear Kennedy's voice. "Hey, Kennedy." Elena fought to keep her voice light. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, Aunt Elena. We're up."

"Great. Um, can you put your dad on the phone?"

Kennedy paused. "He's out getting firewood. Want me to have him call you?"

"I can wait." Elena paced the length of the kitchen as she listened to the silence on the other end of the phone. She looked down and saw that she'd forgotten to stomp the snow from her boots, and she'd left muddy tracks all through the room.

"Elena?" Alaric's voice held back an unspoken question. "What's going on? Is everyone ok?"

That's debatable...at least that's what Elena wanted to answer. Instead, she replied, "We're all fine, but we need you to come over." She swallowed thickly. "Damon says to bring your bag." She peered through the curtains and saw Damon standing in the distance, looking out into the thick copse of trees behind their house.

In the past, Elena had loved those trees along with the tranquility they brought. She'd sit outside on the porch, watching the deer come by to graze on the overgrown grass or trim a few nibbles from the cedar trees.

Not any longer.

Now the trees held a sense of foreboding. Something…someone was hiding, maybe just out of view. But she was certain their watcher was out there. She could feel it into the very core of her being.

Judging by the stiff set of his shoulders, Damon was fighting a war with himself - trying to decide if he should wait on Alaric or venture into the woods on his own. Years ago, before he made the choice that changed both their lives forever, he would have been out there in an instant. No one threatened his family.

But that was then. This was now…when his life could be extinguished with a mere flick of a wrist.

* * *

"I'll be right there." Alaric placed the phone on its charger and looked out the front window. The snow was falling in such thick sheets he could barely see the outline of the trees in the yard. He knew Elena wouldn't have called unless it was important. If Damon asked for Alaric's bag...staying home wasn't an option. He turned and walked to the stairs. "Jackson! I need to borrow your truck." He waited for an answer from above. Hearing none, he grabbed hold of the bannister and jogged up the stairs. "Jackson!" He pounded on his son's door.

After a minute, Jackson cracked the door and blinked at him. "Dad, there's no school today."

"I know that. I need to borrow your truck. Keys." Alaric held out his hand.

"Why do you need my truck?"

"Because I'm the one who paid for it." Alaric glared at Jackson. "Elena just called. Something's going on over there, and they need me to come over. My car can't handle the snow. Since I don't want to walk, I need to borrow your truck."

Jackson looked instantly awake. "Do you need my help?"

"No. Just your keys. I think we'll be fine, but thanks."

Jackson nodded and backed away from the door, revealing his immaculate room. His keys sat on the edge of his drafting table. He picked them up and held them out to his father. "You're sure you don't want me to come?"

"No. Why don't you stay here in case your mom needs some help?" He didn't want to draw Jackson into whatever was going on at the Salvatore house. He hurried back down the stairs and walked down the hall to enter their bedroom. Jenna had just stepped out of the shower and looked at him in confusion.

"You're going somewhere in this?"

"Elena called." Alaric ducked into the back of his closet and pulled out his once-familiar leather bag. There was a time that he'd never left home without it, but that had been years ago. Until Elena's wreck and the bodies they'd discovered in the woods, Mystic Falls had seemed as if it might become simply a typical town.

"Oh God." When what he carried registered in Jenna's eyes, her voice grew as cold as the snow falling outside the window. "Is everything alright?"

"Somehow, I don't think so." Alaric threw on his heaviest coat and stepped into the hallway.

Jenna had been kept in the dark for quite a while, but she wasn't any longer. She knew what that bag meant. "What's wrong? Is everyone…"

"I honestly don't know. Elena called."

Jenna's eyes trailed to the bag in Alaric's hand. "Why do you have that?" She may have been the last introduced to the world of the supernatural, but she came into the fold at the height of the danger to Elena and the rest of Mystic Falls. Jenna knew there was no innocent need for the items he carried.

Alaric locked eyes with his wife. "Damon asked me to bring it. I need to go."

Jenna blinked up at him. "Be careful."

He turned back and took her in his arms. He leaned down and kissed her gently. "Always."

* * *

Damon's breath circled his head like smoke as he trudged through the woods. He and Alaric had been following the trail - or at least attempting to follow it - for the better part of an hour. The tracks clearly led back to the small stream running through the wooded area, after that the trail disappeared.

"We're not going to find anything else." Alaric tugged his ice-covered scarf down from his face. "The snow's too deep now." At least four more inches of snow had fallen during their search obscuring even the once-clear trail. "Whoever it was, they knew what they were doing. Once they got in the stream, we wouldn't be able to find them."

"Damn it!" Damon struck out at a tree - sending a small avalanche of snow down on the pair.

"Let's go back to your house." Alaric felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket for at least the tenth time, but his fingers were too numb to answer. "We need to talk. And Elena has to be going insane. How many times has she called?"

Damon didn't even look down at his phone. "Too many."

"And you didn't think about answering her?"

"I don't have anything to tell her."

The two men trudged in silence through the blowing snow. As they approached the back door, Damon wasn't surprised to see Claire looking out the window at them. She appeared worried as she opened the back door. "You were gone forever. Is everything ok?"

Damon nodded stiffly as he hung his coat on the back of a kitchen chair. "Everything's fine." He saw the rest of his children lying on the floor in front of the television. "Did they get cold?"

"Yeah, and Mom wanted us to come inside. She's acting weird." Claire frowned. The younger kids might have been too distracted from the snow to realize something was amiss beyond footprints in the back yard, but Claire wasn't as easily fooled. Her forest-green eyes followed every single one of Damon's movements. "I mean it, Dad. Mom's almost at pacing-the-stairs level of going nuts. She wouldn't take us sledding. Will you take us later?"

"Sure. Give me a minute to talk to Uncle Ric." He looked around. "Where's your mom?"

Claire pointed to the ceiling. "Bathroom. Where else?" There was an edge to her voice when she answered. Did Claire suspect even more than he thought? "You might want to go in after her. She's been in there a while."

Of course Elena was in the bathroom. He'd been an idiot this morning - so intent on trying to figure out what was going on that he'd totally ignored the impact this was likely having on Elena. Her morning sickness had only slightly begun to fade, but he was sure being nervous only aggravated it this morning. He'd check on her before he talked with Alaric.

"Oh, wait! I'm supposed to ask if you need any coffee." Claire ran to stand next to the coffee pot.

"That would be great." Alaric smiled at his niece as she tried not to spill the full pot of coffee.

"I made it myself."

"Then is it really safe to drink?" Ric's voice held the teasing quality that only came from years of experience raising his family.

"Her coffee's pretty good. Just watch out for grounds."

"There aren't any grounds this time, Dad." She protested, but she was already staring into the pot. Damon smiled to himself, his job of distracting his daughter was complete.

"I'm going to go see about your mom." Damon took the steps two at a time. He rounded the corner and entered his room. Elena sat on the edge of the bathtub holding a washcloth to her face. "Are you alright?"

Elena nodded, apparently not wanting to risk trying to talk.

"I shouldn't have stayed gone so long. I'm so sorry. I was an idiot." He sat on the side of the tub next to her and pulled her close to him.

"I can think of a few words to describe you."

"That's why you're the writer. I'm sure you can use them in your next book. Just keep it PG if you're still writing for teens." He was the one who'd been in the snow for over an hour, but she was the one who was shaking. He kissed the top of her head. "We didn't find anything." He answered the question before she had a chance to ask. "The trail stopped at the creek." He ran his hand up and down her arm.

"Why are they back?" Her voice was scarcely louder than a whisper.

Damon gave a harsh laugh. "This is Mystic Falls. We've had almost 16 vampire-free years. I guess it was just time."

"Technically, we've only had seven vampire-free years." Elena pulled the washcloth from her face and pushed her hair back away from her face.

"Technically." He repeated.

She sighed heavily into his chest.

"Everything alright in there?" Alaric's voice called out from the hallway. "I think Claire's about to come in after y'all."

Damon patted Elena's leg. "I'll be right back." Elena cringed and nodded before bolting toward the toilet. "Do you need me to stay?" Elena waved him off and closed the door behind her.

"Damon?" Alaric took a hesitant step into the master bedroom.

Damon pointed to Elena's office. "Let's talk in there." Alaric reluctantly followed his friend after taking one last glance at the closed door.

"Are you going to really tell me what's going on?" Alaric closed the French doors after he entered the room. "Is she alright? And don't say food poisoning. Claire told me Elena's been living in the bathroom since the wreck."

"Let's start with the easy stuff." Damon leaned back against Elena's desk, careful not to knock over any of the stacks of paper. "When Elena had the wreck, she hit a vampire."

"I know that." Alaric and Damon had talked at length after Sheriff Forbes asked him to re-convene the secret council. They'd decided to wait until after Christmas. Damon thought the timing of today's events was ironic since calling the council members was actually at the top of his to do list for the day.

Damon frowned and nodded. "This morning, when the kids went out to play in the snow, we saw the footprints in the yard. Someone had been looking in the kitchen window."

"And that's why we were wandering through the woods."

"Yep."

Alaric sighed and dropped into the chair. "And you have no idea who it might be..."

Damon shrugged and pursed his lips. "I haven't seen anyone familiar hanging around. We should be alright as long as no one invites anyone inside the house; but I don't know why they're here, and I want to find out."

"That makes two of us." Alaric leaned back in his chair. "You said this was the easy stuff. What's up with Elena? I thought she was pretty much back to normal."

"That depends on how you define normal." For the first time since breakfast, Damon's lips curled into a wry grin as he studied the confusion on Alaric's face. "Give her about six more months, and she'll be good as new."

"She's not."

"Oh yes." Damon rubbed his forehead.

Alaric closed his eyes and shook his head. "I seem to remember the two of us having a conversation similar to this about seven years ago. Do you not understand how this works?"

Damon flashed an evil grin. "I think Elena and I have it down to a science."


	11. Chapter 11

Warnings: Mature - violence, adult content, mild language, sensitive subject matter

* * *

"It's been a month, Damon." Alaric kept pace with Damon as they moved through the woods in a now-familiar evening ritual. "We haven't found anything."

"I know." And that was exactly what bothered Damon. If he'd been able to see himself in the mirror, he would have noticed the telltale wrinkling of his forehead signaling his concern to his best friend. So far, the only outright threatening act against his family had been whoever caused Elena's wreck. The footprints in the snow weren't exactly a threat, but the very fact they existed left Damon with a definite feeling of unease. "And that's exactly the problem."

"So you'd feel better if we found a vampire?" Alaric adjusted the crossbow in his hand.

"I'd feel better if we found something." Damon paused, raising his head to stare into the cloudless night. The stars above him were exactly the same as when he'd been a boy tromping through these woods. He'd been unaware of any supernatural threat back then, just like his own children were now.

He wanted them to stay that way.

Alaric joined his friend, looking up into the black, velvet of the night. "Maybe it was just someone coming by out of idle curiosity." Damon's silence signaled Ric to continue explaining. "I mean, you knew…others like you."

"Vampires."

"Exactly." The expression on Ric's face showed that after all these years, he had difficulty reconciling the vampire he'd first glimpsed decades ago with the man now standing at his side. "I mean, maybe word's gotten around. How many vampires become human again? How many would even want to?"

"No idea."

"And then there's Claire."

"Claire's my daughter." Damon couldn't help the defensive edge that came into his voice.

"Who looks exactly like your brother. Witches talk, you know that. Maybe Lucy let something slip."

A murderous expression clouded Damon's eyes. "She knows better than that."

Alaric held his hands up in front of him in surrender. "I'm just saying, not every brush with the supernatural has to signal bad tidings."

"Name one."

Without a moment's hesitation, Alaric locked eyes with Damon. "I'm looking at him."

"I did plenty of bad things, Ric." Even now, Damon struggled with the memories of the monster he'd been before Elena came into his life.

"But you changed. As much as I hate to admit it, you've been really good for Elena. And you're my best friend."

A ringing cell phone brought the almost-awkward bromance moment to an end. Alaric dug into his pocket and winced. "Yes, Jenna." He silently spoke a curse word. "No. I haven't forgotten. I just got tied up. I promise. Yes, I know she only has a few more of these. I'll be home in ten."

"What did you forget?"

Alaric shook his head. "I'm not going down alone on this one. Just be thankful that Jenna saved you too. I remember what Elena's like when she's pregnant."

* * *

The front door opened and Elena sighed in relief. "Finally!"

"You're in trouble." Brayden spoke frankly from the bottom-most step of the stairs, giving his dad a concerned look, complete with one-eyebrow raised.

"No he's not." Elena half-swatted her son's head.

"That's not what you were mumbling ten minutes ago."

"Shh. Or you're going to be the one in trouble. Why don't you go upstairs and see what your brother's up to? It's too quiet up there." Elena pointed with an emphasis that signaled it wasn't really a suggestion.

"Sorry." Damon ducked down to kiss the top of Elena's head, sending their son up the stairs at full-speed. "There was a long line at the florist." Whether or not it would save him from getting in trouble later, after the kids weren't watching, Damon was unwilling to admit exactly why he was late or why this particular event had slipped his mind. Elena didn't know about his nightly rounds with Ric, and he was going to make certain it stayed that way.

"Just tell me you still picked them up." Elena's eyes pleaded with him.

"Of course I did." Damon held up a white bag. "Have I ever forgotten?"

"Counting this year?"

"I didn't forget."

"That's not what Jenna said." Elena didn't look convinced. "Well, let me see them." Elena walked to his side and took the bag from his hands. She peeked inside. "Oh, they're perfect."

"I picked them out. Did you really expect anything else?"

"That's debatable."

"You missed one." Damon revealed what he'd been hiding behind his back, handing her a single red rose.

"I guess I can forgive you. This time." She carried the bag to the dining room table before placing her rose in a bud vase. "You need to hurry and get ready. Trust me, they can't wait."

"Is that Daddy?" Emma peeked around the top of the stairs. Her eyes widened in five-year-old horror. "You're not even dressed yet. I even picked out your tie for you."

"Give me ten minutes." Damon jogged up the stairs and stopped in front of Emma. "Has anyone told you how lovely you look tonight?"

Emma shook her head and her dark ringlets bobbed up and down. She spun in a circle and proudly showed how her bright pink skirt swirled.

"Do you have glitter in your hair?"

She smiled with glee. "Mommy bought special hairspray."

"Well, then I'd better hurry. I can't be late to the Daddy/Daughter Ball, now can I?" Damon ducked into his bedroom and shut the door. He hurriedly changed into his suit and pink tie that he suspected matched Emma's dress to perfection. After splashing cologne on his cheeks, he stepped back out into the hall. "So, are my dates ready?"

"Ready!" Emma jumped out of her room and grabbed onto his left arm.

"I'm already downstairs, Dad." Claire waved a gloved hand at him as she stood at the bottom of the staircase.

As he descended the stairs with Emma at his side, he was smiled as he looked back and forth between his two daughters. A study in contrasts, Claire had chosen a tea-length ivory dress trimmed in lace. Her hair hung straight just below her shoulders - that must have taken Elena forever. She wore a simple headband with a bow that matched the lace on her dress.

Emma, however, was an explosion of pink. Her frilly dress swished and swirled when she walked. Elena had curled her normally straight hair into ringlets before spraying the glitter hairspray to finish it off.

"You both look lovely." He walked in a circle around the pair. "But something is definitely missing." He held a finger to his cheek as if lost in thought.

Claire smiled knowingly at him. They played this game every year, but this was Emma's first trip to the ball. Claire stood on her toes and craned her neck as she looked at the dining room table.

"Do you think it's over there?" Damon looked at the table skeptically. "Well, there does seem to be a bag on the table." He walked across the room and picked it up. "Mystic Falls Flowers. Hmmm. Now what do you think that could be?" He peeked inside.

"What is it Daddy?" Emma bounced up and down on her toes in excitement.

"Claire first. She's older." Damon pulled out one of the corsages. A cream tea rose with just a hint of pink on the tips perfectly complimented Claire's dress. He reached out and slid it onto her wrist as her cheeks flushed pink. "Do you approve?"

Claire smiled and nodded.

He turned to Emma. "Now it's your turn." Reaching into the bag, he retrieved an even smaller corsage with three tiny pink roses sitting on a shiny silvery foil trim. After he placed it on her arm, she waved it back and forth to watch the foil shine tiny rainbows on the wall. "I love it, Daddy." She threw her arms around him and her chocolate-brown eyes shone with glee.

"Here are your tickets. I picked them up today while I helped decorate." Elena held out three pink rectangles.

"I didn't know you were helping."

"I wasn't supposed to." Elena yawned. "But three of the volunteers cancelled at the last minute. Hannah couldn't do it on her own." She laughed at Damon's worried expression. "Trust me, no one let me on a ladder." She looked down at her rounded belly. Somehow, during the last week, she'd gone from not showing whatsoever to a definite need for maternity clothes. "I blew up balloons."

Damon smiled lovingly at Elena as he stared at the very visible bump under her lilac v-necked shirt. Her cheeks flushed pink under his scrutiny. "So the secret's out?"

"Oh, that one took care of that for me. Turns out, he announced it to his class last week." She nodded to Brayden as he came back down the stairs. He could always be counted on to be in the middle of what he considered interesting.

"I couldn't help it. It was news!" Brayden held his hands up in exasperation.

"But it wasn't your news to tell." Elena glared at her son in mock-annoyance. She reached around him from behind and wrapped him in a bear hug.

"Daddy, we need to go." Emma took hold of Damon's hand and tugged him toward the door.

Damon turned to Elena. "You sure you don't want to come chaperone?"

"Oh, I think you'll be fine." She reached out and straightened Claire's bow. "We've got plans of our own." She looked down at Brayden. "Do you want to tell him?"

"Pizza and video games."

"Exactly." Elena pointed to the television. "Super Mario Galaxy 4...here we come. Oh, wait." She turned around and dug through her purse and pulled out a camera. "I need pictures."

Claire and Emma stood in front of Damon as he placed a hand on each of the girls' shoulders. Elena took a series of pictures of the three together.

"Mom!" Emma tapped her foot on the floor and looked at the clock.

"Alright. I'm sure they'll take more pictures at the dance. I think Hannah said she'd even talked to the guy from the paper about being there." She looked sternly at Damon. "Buy them."

* * *

Damon stepped out of the car and held the car door open for his daughters. The elementary school gym's lights glowed faintly pink through the windows lining the building.

"Ooohhhh, pretty!" Emma pointed to the clusters of pearlescent balloons tied to the stair rails.

Claire grinned at her sister. "Wait till you see it inside." This was Claire's fourth trip to the Daddy/Daughter ball, but it was Emma's first time to be old enough. She studied her little sister with amusement as Emma stepped into the gym for the first time.

The gym looked like Pinkalicious escaped her book and had come to decorate for the party. Sheets of pink butcher paper covered the overhead lights. Festoons of pink and white streamers crossed the ceiling.

"Look at that!" Emma pointed to the balloon archway the attendees had to walk through to enter the dance. Alaric, Madison, and Reagan stood getting their pictures taken as the Salvatores watched. After the last picture clicked, Quinn stepped forward and handed each girl a pink carnation.

"Well, let's go." Damon guided his girls into the line.

Alaric waved in Damon's direction. "You were almost late."

"But we weren't." Damon corrected. "Doesn't look like you were too far ahead of us." They took their place under the arch.

"You two look lovely." Quinn gushed as she took her place behind the camera.

"How did you end up helping with this?"

"National Honor Society volunteer hours." Quinn answered with a laugh. "I think it's fun to see everyone dressed up. Now smile!" Emma and Claire leaned back against Damon as they all smiled in Quinn's direction. "Emma, you lost a tooth!"

"Yesterday."

"Was the Tooth Fairy good to you?"

Emma nodded. "Five dollars."

"She was good to you. That must have been a very special tooth."

Emma giggled as Damon turned to Quinn. "You're still coming over tomorrow?"

"Six o'clock on Valentine's Day. I've had y'all on my calendar since New Year's." Quinn hesitated. "It's okay if Jackson comes, right?"

"I was planning on it."

"Then we'll be there." Quinn handed the girls their flowers. "The pictures will be ready when you leave. Have a good time!"

Damon, Emma, and Claire walked across the dance floor to the circular tables set up on the side of the gym. "Let's find our names."

"You're with us!" Reagan skipped to Emma's side and took her cousin's hand. "Come on."

Damon stood behind the plastic chair and pulled it out for Claire as Emma picked up a handful of heart-shaped glitter and let it trickle through her fingers. "Don't get that in the butter."

As they took their seats, Kennedy stepped up to the table carrying a tray of plates. "Hi Uncle Damon."

"Having fun?"

"Oh, of course." Kennedy rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure how Mom talked me into helping."

"I remember when you were little enough to go with your dad."

Kennedy laughed. "Those were the days." She carefully placed a plate of lasagna and salad in front of Emma. "Don't get that on your dress."

A camera flash drew Damon's attention. Damon blinked through the stars in his eyes to find the photographer.

"Hope you don't mind." Blake Silverman waved at Damon. "We're doing a spotlight on the Daddy/Daughter dance for the paper. Subscribers really eat local stuff up, I've been told."

"I'm sure they do."

"And I couldn't resist the mayor with his daughters." Blake checked the photo on the viewscreen of his camera. "Want to see it?" He offered to show Emma who bit her lip and looked up at her dad. "Something wrong?"

"I blinked." She spoke in a whisper.

"I can do a re-take. No problem." He backed away from the table and waited for the Salvatores to get ready. "Three. Two. One." Another flash lit the air. "Better?" He waited for Emma's approval.

"Much."

"At the Mystic Falls Messenger, we aim to please." Blake gave a half-bow. "If you'll excuse me, I have quite a few more tables to visit."

"Good to see you here tonight. Thanks." Damon reached out and shook Blake's hand. "If you stay here long enough, you'll be here at one of these."

"I look forward to that day. This is quite a remarkable little town. My wife and I are really enjoying it."

"Glad to hear it." Alaric shook his hand goodbye. "It's good to see the paper back in good hands." He paused. "I know you're in a hurry, but do you ever offer internships?"

"Do you have someone in mind?"

Ric looked at Kennedy.

"Are you interested in journalism?"

Kennedy threw her dad a glare that suggested she'd like the ground to open up and swallow him. "I think so."

"She took first place in a competition last week."

"Well, then, I definitely might have a place for you, especially with the town's big birthday celebration coming up in April. I could always use some help from a founding family member."

"We're not really founders," Kennedy corrected him.

"But if I've heard correctly, your mom's one of the go-to people for historical records."

Reagan's nose wrinkled. "We have so many boxes in the basement."

"Send me an e-mail next week. We'll set up a time to meet." Blake turned back and nodded to someone in the distance. "But for now, my photography skills are needed over there."

* * *

Damon reached into the car and carefully picked up a soundly-sleeping Emma.

"Too much dancing?" Elena shook her head.

"You can never have too much dancing." Damon winked. "But dancing after eating your own lasagna and half of your sister's along with two slices of garlic bread and a piece of chocolate cake seemed to be too much for her." He mounted the stairs reaching out to the bannister for support. Elena followed him into Emma's room as he carefully lowered her onto her bed. He stepped back as Elena knelt next to her daughter.

"Come on, Miss Emma. Time for bed."

"But I'm already in bed," she protested.

"You can't sleep in your dress, sweetie." Elena tugged the frilly socks off Emma's feet. "Come on, sit up for a second." She eased the dress over Emma's head as Damon tossed Emma's nightgown to her. "Well, that's as good as it's going to get." Emma fell back on the bed, never fully waking up.

Elena stood and walked into the hall where she could hear the shower running. "Did they have a good time?"

"They were with me." Damon loosened his tie.

Elena glared at him.

"They had a great time." Damon smiled at the memory. "Claire and her friends even did a conga line. Don't worry. Jenna took pictures. I saw Quinn; she's on for tomorrow night."

"I feel guilty keeping her from celebrating Valentine's Day."

"Oh, they're still celebrating. Jackson's coming with her. I even threw in dinner to seal the deal."

Elena laughed. "What did Alaric say?"

"Not much." Damon shrugged. "They still have Kennedy to watch Madison and Reagan."

"Oh, that should be successful." Elena was still laughing as Claire came out of the shower wrapped in her lilac terry cloth robe. "Did you have a good time."

"It was awesome." She turned to Damon. "Did you put my flowers in the fridge?"

"Already done." He said. "Why don't you go get ready for bed? You're dripping all over the floor."

Claire looked down at the floor and grimaced. "Sorry."

"Don't worry. I'll clean it up." Damon patted her on the back and pointed to her bedroom.

* * *

"So, how's school going? Don't y'all have a track meet coming up?"

Damon rushed through the door and was relieved to hear Quinn and Jackson chatting with Elena.

"School's going great, but we're not ready for the meet at the end of the month. I was really hoping for that track scholarship." Quinn pulled out a barstool and sat at the kitchen island.

"Why aren't you ready?"

Jackson shook his head. "Because Coach Fell says it isn't safe to run on the jogging paths. Apparently there's a pack of rabid dogs somewhere in Mystic Falls."

"He's right about that." Damon leaned against the doorway. He'd had a less than warm response to the idea that vampires might have returned to Mystic Falls. With the only real evidence being the bodies in the ravine and Elena's wreck, most of the members of the Founding Families were less than ready to take any real preemptive steps against a supernatural threat. The best he could get everyone to agree to was a vague warning about a rabid dog pack living in the woods to try to keep residents away from the area. He was surprised that Aaron Fell was even listening at the meeting long enough to decide to keep his cross country team close to home. "I saw the bodies, Jackson. I wouldn't want you to take the chance of getting hurt - scholarship or not."

"Ew. Can we not talk about bodies on Valentine's Day?" Quinn wrinkled her nose in disgust. "On a happier note, I got my acceptance to NYU yesterday."

"You did? That's great news." Elena rounded the counter to give Quinn a hug. For the first time that evening, Damon got a good look at what she was wearing. Obviously one of the new outfits she'd purchased on her recent shopping date with Caroline, Elena's new curves were perfectly outlined by the deep red v-necked dress. His eyes were especially drawn the the beading along the neckline, but not because of the intricate detail of the design. She felt her cheeks color under his scrutiny. "What?"

"I think it's time for us to leave on our date." Damon stood and walked into the room - revealing a bouquet of a dozen red roses. "But after you put these in some water."

"You got me more flowers?"

"We haven't been on a date since before Christmas. I thought it was appropriate." He turned in response to a thunderous noise from upstairs. "They're all yours." He looked back at Jackson and Quinn.

"Thanks Uncle Damon." Jackson shook his head as he ran toward the stairwell. "What are y'all doing up there?"

* * *

"Where are we going?" Elena looked at Damon in confusion as they turned off the main road leading into the town center.

"To the most exclusive dining establishment in Mystic Falls."

"Damon, there are ten restaurants in Mystic Falls. I'd hardly call any of them exclusive."

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about a restaurant?" He turned right and began to weave up a once-familiar road. In the distance, lights shone plainly from the Salvatore boarding house. Now mainly used for private events, the house normally stood dark and empty in its secluded location. "I know how you hate the crowds at restaurants on Valentine's Day, and the service is always horrible." He pulled into the circle drive and stopped the car. "And, I'm the best chef in town. Wait there." He stepped from the car and shut the door before walking around to open Elena's door for her. "May I?" He offered his hand to help her out of the car.

Hand in hand, they walked through the doors and into the living room. The dining room table was already set for two. Damon had placed the china place settings side by side. As she took her seat, he offered her a basket full of warm focaccia bread.

"When did you have time to do this?"

"I may have taken the afternoon off." He bent down and gave her a deep kiss. "I'll be right back." He walked into the kitchen and came back after a few minutes with two plates filled with balsamic chicken, roasted new potatoes and Caesar salad.

"This looks wonderful."

"It is, but save some room for dessert." He did his eye thing in her direction.

Elena narrowed her eyes and looked back at him. "Why am I suddenly suspicious?"

"Because you have every reason to be."

* * *

"I hope you saved room for dessert."

Elena placed her cloth napkin to the side of her plate. "I don't know. I'm stuffed."

"But dessert's the best part." Damon looked wounded.

"Alright, I'll try. What are we having?"

Damon shook his head. "Not here." He slid his chair back and stood. "I thought dessert might be best in a more intimate setting. If you'll join me..." He offered her his arm as she stood and looked at him in confusion. "This way." He led her up the stairs and into his bedroom. The overhead light was out and candles flickered softly around the room. The bed had been partially turned down with the bedspread and white satin sheets at an angle to the headboard. Red rose petals were scattered across the exposed top sheet and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries had been placed in the center of the bed.

Stepping behind Elena, Damon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest. "And now you see the final reason we are eating here tonight." He nibbled at her ear lobe. "I intend to have wild, passionate sex with you. They tend to frown on that in a busy restaurant."

"You do?" Elena spun in his grasp and gazed up into his eyes.

"Mmm hmm." He trailed kisses down her her neck as he pulled her toward the bed. "Dessert before or after?" Elena reached up and began to unbutton his dress shirt. "Definitely after," he answered, his words muffled by her lips on his.


	12. Chapter 12

Warnings: Mature rating, adult content, sensitive subject matter, language, violence, character death (*new warning)

I still don't own TVD. I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit. I'll put them back, I promise.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Jackson leaned against the front door.

Quinn took a deep breath and smiled. "Today's the first day of Spring Break. The snow finally melted, and..." She stepped close and placed her hand atop Jackson's chest. "I want a running partner."

"We can't."

"Are you actually worried about the dogs? Come on. I mean, seriously. There's something called overkill." She rolled her eyes. "That was back in November. They can't still be here. They had to move on when it was so cold."

"I don't know." He shook his head. "Someone died."

"And do we even know the dogs did it? It could have been a homeless guy. Then the dogs just took advantage of it."

"Great mental image, there. Thanks."

"I thought I was the girl in this relationship."

"I don't typically think about bodies before breakfast."

"Sorry. I would be really appreciative." She smiled suggestively at him. "Maybe I could help you think of a different kind of body."

Jackson frowned and shook his head in defeat. He turned and pointed back into the house. "Can you wait a couple of hours? I'm on kid duty."

"Where's Kennedy? Can't she watch them? We won't be gone that long." Quinn peeked at Madison and Reagan playing video games in the living room.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." He touched her face and stroked her cheek. Leaning close to her, his lips brushed against her ear, he whispered, "You know we always end up in the clearing." He backed away and gave her a crooked grin and let out a long breath. "Mom drove Kennedy to get her braces off. It's just me and the munchkins."

"I heard that!" Madison yelled from the living room. "I am not a munchkin!"

Quinn laughed. "No, you're not." She looked back at Jackson. "That one hears everything."

"She does." Jackson nodded. "Do you want to come in?" He gestured over his shoulder. "We can go after Mom and Kennedy get back."

"I guess that would be ok. It's more fun to run with a partner."

"Especially when we have to stop for a little break."

"No." She shook her head. "No breaks today. My time wasn't good enough at the last meet. You know that. I have to get in shape for next weekend. The NYU scout is going to be there; and she said if I have a good time, the scholarship is mine." Quinn reached into her pocket and pulled out her car keys. Pointing the keys at the car, it locked with a honk. "So, what are we playing?" Quinn took a seat on the brown leather couch and looked at the television.

* * *

"Thanks so much for coming over, John." Elena shut the door as John stepped into the living room. "I think you may have saved Jackson's life." When Jenna had called to let Elena know she wouldn't be able to watch the Elena's kids while she was at her weekly doctor's appointment, saying she was slightly annoyed was putting it mildly. Jackson would be lucky if he were un-grounded in time from prom in six weeks.

John shook his head dismissively. "It wasn't any trouble. I was already in town for the council meeting." He cocked his head to the side. "I expected to see you there."

"Not today." She waved vaguely at the stairs. "I wanted to stay home with them this morning since I had the appointment this afternoon."

"Which I don't want to make you late for. How are you doing?" He glanced down at her stomach.

Elena shrugged. "Other than being the general size of a house already, I'm doing fine." She bit her lip. "We do the sonogram today."

"Ah, so that's why Damon left before the meeting was over." He glanced at his watch. "He's probably going to beat you there. Well, then, you need to get going."

Elena hesitated in the doorway.

"Really, we'll be fine. Elena, I'm ready for a marathon game of Monopoly with the boys. I promised them the last time I came over."

"Then you'd better be ready to lose." Nathan came running into the foyer with his Disney Monopoly game in his hands.

John laughed. "I always am."

* * *

Damon looked up as Elena sped into the room. "I already signed us in." He stood and walked to Elena's side. "Take a breath. Dr. Meyers had to go deliver a baby. She's running late. I told Marcie that was no problem." He leaned over and kissed her cheek as they moved together to take a seat in the waiting room.

"Phew!" Elena leaned over and held her head in her hands. She sat up and smiled. "I never thought I'd say I was happy John was in town." During the past few weeks, he'd made more stops at the Salvatore house than he had over the last 5 years - and Elena couldn't really complain because he'd been an immense help on nights Damon had to work. In fact, he was at the house so often, she had a strong suspicion that Damon might actually be calling to invite him.

"Did Jenna say why she had to cancel?" Damon took Elena's hand in his.

"Something about Jackson." Elena shrugged her shoulders. "She was pretty vague. He'd gone somewhere with Quinn. I'm not really sure if she knew where they'd gotten off to," Elena winced, "and I'm not sure if she wanted to know based on Madison's description of how they were acting this morning."

"As long as it doesn't mean Quinn will be here in a few months."

Elena elbowed Damon in his side. "We're talking about Jackson and Quinn."

"I know." An uncertain twinge hit Damon's stomach. Of all the next generation of Salvatores, Gilberts, and Saltzmans, Jackson was the most responsible. Looking at his wife's face, he could see that he needed to think of some type of distraction if she was going to be able to relax at all. Since her blood pressure was already on the high side at the last appointment, he needed to get her mind off whatever her nephew might be doing. "So, have we decided?"

Elena's smile could have lit the room as she bobbed her head up and down. "I want to know."

"You're sure?" Damon raised an eyebrow. The "do we find out or don't we find out" debate had been raging in the Salvatore household for the past month.

"Don't you want to know?" Elena looked at him in dismay, her eyes widened in shock. He guessed he couldn't blame her, since he'd been decidedly on team "we need to know what color to paint the nursery" and she'd been the holdout. Today, he'd be willing to do whatever she wanted just to get her to stop thinking about Jackson disappearing with Quinn.

"Of course I do." He stroked her arm. "I need to know if we have the right color paint or if I need to get Ric to stop by the hardware store."

"We're not painting today."

"Just checking."

"Elena?" Dr. Meyers' nurse, Marcie beckoned from the doorway. "Are you ready?"

Damon reached out and helped Elena out of her chair. "Oh, I'm definitely ready." She slid her hand over her belly. "I just hope this one cooperates."

"We've been having pretty good luck today. Here, why don't you step on up?" Marcie stopped in front of the scale.

Elena squinted her eyes closed. "Oh, I don't even want to know."

Marcie gave an encouraging laugh as she filled out Elena's chart. She looked at the numbers for a moment. "You're still way below most of our moms' weight gains. You should tell me your secret."

"Just spend a couple months without being able to keep food down, and it seems to be pretty easy." Damon said.

"Really?" Marcie looked horrified. "I think I'll take gaining a little extra weight. Are you feeling better now?"

Elena nodded. "Much better, thanks."

"Here you go. Have a seat." Marcie fitted the blood pressure cuff over Elena's arm. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the numbers before recording them in her chart.

"Something wrong?" Damon looked sharply at her.

"Oh no, just making sure I read everything right." She gave an overly wide smile as she motioned to the examination room with Elena's chart. "If you'll just wait in here, Dr. Meyers should be here in just a minute."

Just as Elena took her place on the examination table, Damon's phone buzzed in his pocket. "Forgot to turn it off." He pulled it out and looked to see who was calling. Liz? Mouthing an apology to Elena, he answered. "Hello?"

Elena watched as Damon's brow furrowed with concern. "Right now I'm at the doctor's with Elena." He paused and glanced at the clock on the wall. "I understand. You're sure? Exactly what did they find?" The door opened and Dr. Meyers stepped into the room. "I can be there in...20 minutes." He ended the call with a frown.

"What's wrong?'

Damon gave her a barely perceptible shake of his head as he answered. "Just town stuff."

"Do you need to go?"

Damon was torn. They'd been eagerly anticipating this moment for weeks, but he couldn't ignore Liz's call. He nodded glumly as he took her hand.

"Tell you what..." Dr. Meyers looked at the clock. "You two waited for me. If you can give me five minutes, I'll do the sonogram first and the exam second. Will that work?"

* * *

"I am going to kill your brother." Jenna stared at her phone. She'd sent him ten messages, and he had yet to return any of them. He'd been gone for at least two hours.

"Mom?" Madison stepped into the room.

"What is it?" Jenna answered more sharply than she intended. She keyed Jackson's number into her phone. After the fourth ring, his voice mail picked up. Again. "Sorry. Do you need something?"

Madison shifted from side to side as she chewed her lip.

"Madison?" Something was clearly bothering her daughter. She tilted her head and looked at her daughter with curiosity. "Do you know something?"

"I wasn't supposed to hear it." Madison looked guilty.

"Is it about Jackson? Do you know where he might be?"

Madison jerked her head once in a nod.

"Then we'll make an exception." Jenna forced herself to give her daughter her calmest expression. "What did you hear?"

Madison looked at the floor and whispered.

"I totally didn't understand that."

Madison lifted her face but still didn't meet her mother's eyes. "They went running."

"Well, we knew that. That's where they said they were going." Jenna nervously ran her fingers through her hair.

"That's not all." Madison shook her head. "They weren't going to the track like he said." She closed her eyes and spat out the next words. "QuinnwantedtogorunninginthewoodsandJacksonsaidyes."

Jenna blinked at her daughter. "One more time?"

"Quinn said she wanted to go running in the woods." Madison cringed. "Jackson said yes." Madison's face crumpled, her conflict about getting her brother in trouble clearly apparent in her eyes.

"They did what?" Jenna's face flushed red.

"They went to the clearing."

"No, he wouldn't do that." But the unsettled feeling in Jenna's stomach told her otherwise. "Ric!" She hurried through the house and stepped into the bathroom where Alaric's head was hidden in the cabinet under the sink. "Ric!"

"Ow!" He jumped and hit his head on the underside of the sink. He slid back until he was sitting on his heels and placed his tools on his lap. "What is it?" He rubbed the back of his head.

"Madison knows where Jackson went."

* * *

"So, any guesses?" Dr. Meyers studied the television mounted to the wall.

Elena nodded. "Damon thinks he knows."

"Well, Dad, what do you think?"

"Definite girl." He grinned as the baby's foot came into view. The little one wiggled his or her toes.

"And what makes you think that?"

"With Brayden, Elena was sick exactly twice. Once on the morning of the wedding and once on the honeymoon. Claire was a different story." According to what Stefan had told him, Elena had lived in the bathroom those first few months. "We all remember the twins." She'd been so sick they'd actually had to admit her to the hospital because she'd been dehydrated.

"And?"

"She still hasn't gained the weight she lost at the beginning."

Dr. Meyers should never play cards. She laughed at Damon. "Maybe I should have you working for me. It would definitely help when our little ones are trying to be shy." She nodded at Elena. "Your husband's right. It's a girl."

"Emma is going to be thrilled." She'd already been practicing dressing her dolls. If she had her way, this little one would be wearing a lot of dresses.

"And so is her dad." Damon leaned down and kissed Elena's forehead. "But I really have to go. Sorry." He gave her hand a tight squeeze. Something in his voice set her on edge, no excitement about the sonogram's results could cut through the distinct sound of nervous tension he was trying to hide. "Call me when your appointment's over. If you can't get me, leave a message, and I'll get back with you."

He never let her phone calls go to voice mail. Ever.

"I will." Elena frowned slightly as he left the room. He'd been distracted since he took Liz's call. She knew he was trying to hide it, but something was very wrong. She'd call him, but she planned to find out what had happened - not to fill him in on the results of her appointment.

"Let's take some pictures. Lean back and relax. This might take a few minutes." Dr. Meyers squirted more of the warm jell on Elena's exposed stomach. While she slid the instrument and stared up at the screen, she began to speak. "So, let's chat about your blood pressure."

"It was nothing." Elena shook her head.

"Did you see it? One sixty-five over ninety is hardly nothing, Elena. You're at twenty weeks. That's too early to be having trouble with it."

"Really. I'll be fine. I was just in a hurry this morning. Jenna cancelled on babysitting and I practically ran through the parking lot. I just hadn't had time for it to calm down."

"We'll have to keep a watch on it. You're 37 now, Elena. This one isn't going to be as easy as when you were expecting in your twenties. I want you to come back in next week to get it checked, but until then, no more jogging through parking garages. Understand?"

Elena laughed - adequately chastised, "I understand."

* * *

Elena stepped from the elevator and turned to leave the building, but decided a trip to the restroom might be in order first. She walked to the bathrooms in the lobby only to discover they were out of order. She hesitated. Going home without a pit stop was not going to be possible. For once, she was thankful that her doctor's office was just a few steps away from the hospital lobby. Opening the glass door, she walked into the underground passageway that ran under the street and linked the two buildings.

"What are we going to tell them?" A familiar voice was up ahead.

"The same thing we've told everyone else. Rabid dogs."

"Damon, Liz?" Elena rounded the corner and came face to face with her husband and the sheriff.

"Elena." Sheriff Forbes' eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

"The bathroom was closed. A problem with the plumbing." She motioned behind her. "I came across to use this one." She locked eyes with Damon. "What's going on? Why are you here? You said you were meeting Liz. You didn't say she was at the hospital."

Liz looked back and forth between the couple, clearly uncomfortable. "I'll leave you two alone." She turned and walked into the hospital's lobby.

"Damon?

Damon turned to Elena. He'd love to be able to dismiss her concerns with a simple town business excuse, but this wasn't just about the town.

"Oh God." The edges of her vision blurred. "There was an attack. Wasn't there?" She'd known something was wrong when Damon had spoken to Liz earlier, but she'd been so distracted by her doctor's appointment she had pushed it out of her mind.

Damon took a deep breath as his jaw visibly tensed. "Not here." He wasn't about to tell her this news without a chair in arm's reach. "Come on." He glanced through the doorway and changed his mind. He didn't want a crowd around them. He turned back to her and took her hand. "Yes, there was another attack."

Elena felt her heart race in her chest. "And?" She could tell there was still more to the story.

"Jackson and Quinn went running this morning." He watched as a look of fear clouded her face. "Jackson should be fine. Jenna puts vervain in his coffee. Whoever attacked him… Well, they didn't like the vervain. " Her hands begin to tremble as she backed away and shook her head. Damon gripped her arms to steady her. "Elena."

"No." She didn't want to hear it.

He pulled her close to him and wrapped her in his arms. "Quinn's gone."


	13. Chapter 13

Author's note: I'm sorry I'm behind on answering reviews. I'm still fighting through some post-surgical issues. My time at the computer is kind of limited, but I want to keep the story moving along. Thanks to those of you who are reviewing. I do read each of them. Thanks.

I don't have a ton to say about this chapter. Yes, it is heavy. And a lot happens... Sadly, the next section of chapters will all be more somber than earlier in the story. Hey, this is TVD, though, it can never stay overly cheerful for too long.

Warnings - Mature, sensitive subject matter, adult content, language, violence, character death

* * *

"Are you going to be okay?" Damon studied Elena's pale face without letting go of her arm. He never predicted Elena would have been using the corridor after her doctor's visit.

She focused on the more important question right now. "Does Jenna know yet?"

Damon nodded. "I'm the one who told them." He called Liz as soon as he was out of the building. She said they'd already cleared the scene in the woods. Matt was riding along in the ambulance with Jackson to the hospital. He was hurt, but his wounds didn't seem to be life-threatening.

"Are they here?"

"Are you sure you're up to this?" When Jenna and Alaric met with the doctor in charge of Jackson's care, he'd implied they would have a long wait until they could see their son.

"I have to be." She kissed his cheek and slid her hand down his arm. "Go do your mayor stuff. I know someone will want you to make a statement. I need to stay with Jenna." She squinted her eyes closed and shook her head. "The kids."

"I'll call John and see if he can stay another hour." He pulled his phone from his pocket.

Elena pushed the glass door open and entered the lobby. Thankfully, there was a lull in activity, and she didn't have to encounter too many familiar faces on her way to the surgery waiting area. Liz Forbes and Quinn's family was nowhere to be seen, and for that, she was extremely thankful. She didn't think she was up to seeing them right now.

Rounding the corner, she caught sight of Jenna and Ric. Jenna sat on the plastic chair farthest from the door. She stared at the far wall but didn't seem to be looking at anything. Alaric stood next to her, using the wall for support, with his left hand on her shoulder. As Elena watched, Jenna reached up and took hold of her husband's hand.

Alaric turned and noticed her presence in the room. "Elena."

"How did you get here so fast?" Jenna studied her niece with confusion.

"I was already here." She took the seat next to Jenna. "Doctor's appointment next door."

Jenna nodded slowly. "Your sonogram. I forgot." She forced a smile. "How did it go?"

"Great." Elena wasn't sure it was right for her to still have any happiness left, not on a day like this. She fought to manage a smile. "It's a girl."

"Does Damon know yet?" Jenna's voice trembled slightly.

"Yes. He was there for the sonogram." Elena watched as her aunt fought for control. "Jenna, I'm so sorry." That was all it took. Jenna broke down in Elena's arms. Elena held her aunt tightly as they rocked back and forth. "Damon said Jackson's going to be alright."

"He will be." Alaric nodded. He knelt next to Jenna. "Jenna, shhh. He's going to be alright."

"I know, but..."

"No, we can't think about that now." Alaric shook his head.

* * *

Jackson's eyes cracked open and he looked around the room in confusion. Everything was so blurry. How did he get here? Where was here?

"Here you go." Jenna placed his glasses on his face.

He blinked a few times as he realized he was in a hospital bed. "What happened?" He didn't sound like himself. He swallowed and his throat seared with pain.

"You're going to be fine." Jenna ignored his question.

Jackson looked out the window. Pitch black. He shifted in the bed and saw his father and Damon standing in the doorway. "I'll be right back. I promised Elena I'd call when he woke up." Damon ducked out of the room and walked down the hallway to make the call.

"Mom?" Jackson's voice was hoarse, and he reached up to rub his bandaged throat until Jenna pulled his hand away. "We were running. I stopped to tie my shoe." His eyes darted around the room. "I heard a noise in the bushes. I jumped up but I couldn't find her. I kept running but she was just gone. I could hear her. Quinn was screaming and crying and then she just stopped." He turned and looked at Alaric. "Something grabbed me from behind. It bit me and gagged. Then it sounded like it was choking. And then I heard it again. It growled and threw me into the tree."

"Did you see the animal?" Jenna didn't want to hear the answer.

"Not an animal." Jackson shook his head. "I'm not that dumb. It grabbed me from behind. I never saw whatever it was, but it was big. It couldn't have been a dog. The hands. They. They looked like a person's hands. But who would be that crazy?"

"Why did you do it?" Alaric closed in on the bed. "You knew you weren't supposed to go in the woods. You never break the rules. Why this one?" Alaric's voice echoed into the hallway until he was pulled from behind.

Damon threw his friend against the wall. "Stop it!" He pinned Alaric to the wall. "Listen to yourself. Do you think Jackson wanted this to happen?"

"Where's Quinn?" Jackson's voice shook as the spoke to his mother.

"Jackson...I..." Jenna spoke through her tears. "I'm so sorry."

"No. No!" A nurse at the desk looked up in response to Jackson's screams.

"Listen to him." Damon lowered his voice. "No, they shouldn't have gone in the woods. Yes, he should have listened to us. But we're the ones to blame. You. Me. Liz. Everyone who's lied to them about what's out there. If he'd known what was waiting, do you really think he would have ever risked it? Animal attacks." Damon's voice trailed off. "You can fight back against an animal. But this? This is all on me." Alaric stared at his friend - troubled by the amount of guilt he saw on Damon's face. "I'll leave y'all alone."

* * *

Elena held tightly to Emma's hand as they walked along the curving gravel driveway. They'd been one of the last families to leave the church, and Damon was forced to park quite a distance from the graveside.

"We have to walk all the way over there?" Nathan's voice carried along the breeze. "It's cold. And I think it's going to rain."

"Shh!" Three family members all turned in sync to shush him.

"Why do we have to be quiet?" Nathan's questions persisted at a barely lower volume.

"Because that's what you do at a funeral." Kennedy explained even though she was running short of patience. The tension in the Saltzman car was overwhelming, and she'd sought refuge with her aunt and uncle's family. Elena had been more than happy to put her to use helping corral her brood while Damon was in mayor-mode. He'd walked ahead while Elena had waited until the last possible second to let her family leave the car.

As the group crested the low hill and closed in on the rows of chairs, Elena's footsteps slowed. She hadn't been ready for this. Immediately to the right of Quinn's gravesite sat a far too familiar sight - a charcoal gravestone labeled_ Salvatore. _She'd brought Claire here a handful of times when she was younger, but she'd never really discussed Stefan with her other children.

"Mom, that's our name! That's really cool! Do you think we're related?" Brayden pointed at the headstone as Elena wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

"Yes." Elena leaned down and grabbed his hand, pulling him along the pathway. "Be quiet." She felt Damon's eyes on her as the group finally reached the graveside. He leaned down and whispered something to Quinn's father and shook the tired-looking man's hand before he walked away from the front row.

"But do you think we know him?" Thankfully, Brayden had the sense to whisper as he continued to point at Stefan's headstone.

"Brayden, just be quiet. Yes, we know him." Claire hissed at her brother.

Elena nodded as she held a finger to her lips. "I'll explain later." Looking around, she discovered with dismay that all the chairs were full. Since they had no other alternative, they stood at the edge of the assembled group. The minister took his place next to the white casket adorned pink roses and began to speak, but Elena tuned him out. She'd spent too many hours matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore Stefan's graveside.

Just as tears began to cloud her eyes, she felt strong arms wrap themselves around her. Leaning gratefully against Damon, she wiped her cheeks as she realized it was almost exactly 10 years ago that she'd stood here to say goodbye to Stefan. She looked down and saw Claire - her eyes fixed on the gravestone. When Claire realized her mother had noticed where she was looking, she quickly turned her attention back to the minister speaking.

"Do you need to go?" Damon whispered so softly only Elena could hear him.

"No." Elena shook her head. "It's important that we stay." She motioned in Alaric and Jenna's direction. No one in the town really blamed Jackson, but she knew what it was like to be the subject of whispers. The Saltzmans needed their support more than ever.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Elena paused in the doorway to Claire's room. The other children were sad about Quinn, but Elena didn't think the full implications had hit them yet.

Quinn was gone.

She wasn't coming back.

Today as Emma stared at the glittery polish on her nails, Elena had to fight back tears as she realized just how close her youngest daughter was to Jackson's girlfriend. Emma seemed to understand that Quinn was gone, but she knew her daughter didn't yet understand the permanence of the situation.

"Claire?" She noticed what Claire was looking at. "I thought you took those albums back to Jenna.

Claire turned a page and looked up. The puppy was curled up against Claire's leg, and Claire absently rubbed her fingers through the dog's cinnamon-colored fur. "Most of them, but she said we could keep these. They're really yours."

"Are they?" Elena took a seat on the bed beside her daughter. Molly blinked up in annoyance as Elena shook the bed.

Claire nodded and flipped another page. She pursed her lips and her brow furrowed. "That's my real dad, isn't it?"

Claire pointed to a picture of Stefan wearing a light brown shirt under his black jacket. He was standing behind Elena, giving her a rare smile. Judging by what she was wearing, Jenna must have snapped the picture while she was chaperoning the 50s dance.

Elena gave a sad smile and nodded. "That's Stefan." She glanced around the room, feeling guilty. The picture of Stefan on Claire's nightstand had been replaced long ago. She thought about the rest of the pictures in the house...she didn't think Stefan was in any of them.

"He was Dad's brother." A hint of an accusation hung in her voice.

"Claire, you know that." Elena was sure what answer her daughter was searching for, but she did know she was far too emotionally drained to be having this discussion right now. Sadly, she could already tell it was exactly when Claire did need to talk about it.

Claire shook her head. "But I don't understand." Her deep green eyes peered into Elena's. "You love my dad, don't you?" She tapped the picture. "How could you have loved him too?"

Elena sat still. She hadn't been prepared for that question - not today. Maybe she'd been ready for questions about Quinn or Mystic Falls' unusually high animal attack count or why Jackson seemed so angry at everyone right now. But not questions about Elena's relationships with the Salvatore brothers.

"I mean...I see you with Dad. You're going to have another baby...but why was he second? You married him..." Claire pointed angrily at Stefan's picture. "You married him first. Why not Daddy? Why couldn't he be MY dad?"

"Claire, that's such a complicated question. There's not an easy answer for that."

"Then tell me...something. You never talk about him. Ever!"

"I'm sorry." Elena felt her eyes begin to fill. "I didn't know you wanted to talk about him. I tried a few times when you were younger, and…" Elena paused, knowing that she'd never been fair to her daughter in not discussing this topic. "I honestly thought it was easier that way."

"Maybe easier for you." Her solemn girl had definitely inherited her father's temper. "I don't know anything about him."

"I used to try to tell you. You always left the room when I talked about your dad."

"Not my dad. Damon's my dad."

"I know that. I know that Damon's the dad you've always known, but I'm not sure what else to call Stefan…because he was your dad too. What do you want to know?"

Claire chewed her lip and drummed her finger on the album cover. "How did you meet?"

Elena reached for a tissue off Claire's nightstand. I was unconscious in the back seat of my parents' car. Your dad dove in and saved me, but my parents drowned. She knew she couldn't give the real answer - that would lead to too many questions. Instead, she decided to tell her daughter about the first time she met Stefan. "It was the first day of school my junior year. Our parents had died in May, and your Uncle Jeremy was having a hard time with it. He was doing some things he shouldn't, and I'd followed him into the boys' bathroom at school. After yelling at Jeremy for a while, I stormed out of the bathroom and walked right into your dad."

"You met Stefan coming out of the boys' bathroom?" Elena noticed her daughter's use of Stefan's proper name instead of calling him her father.

"Yep." Elena nodded as she laughed in an attempt to diffuse the tension in the room. When did her daughter turn into an angsty pre-teen?

"No wonder you've never told me that story before." Claire giggled.

"Not really my proudest moment. Was Dad there too?"

"No. Damon had already graduated."

Claire flipped to the end of the album. She pointed to a picture of Stefan holding Elena in his arms as Elena proudly displayed a shining solitaire ring on her left hand. "Tell me about this one."

Elena slid the book in front of her. She took a deep breath. "Your dad..."

"He's not my dad. I've never met him."

"Alright," Elena answered softly. She corrected herself. "Stefan had just asked me to marry him." She closed her eyes and thought back to that night. "It was Christmas Eve. I was a freshman in college. We were at Aunt Jenna's house. She and Alaric had been married for a year, and it was our first Christmas as a family. We'd just finished dinner and I realized your dad...Stefan... and I were the only two left in the living room. We were sitting under the tree in front of the fireplace. He took my hand and got down on one knee. I said yes before he'd finished asking the question. Turns out, everyone else was in on it. They'd all been standing around the corner in the kitchen waiting for him to ask the question. He'd asked Alaric and Jenna for permission the day before and they hadn't said a word. Jenna took that picture right after he slid the ring on my finger. "

"Was Dad there?"

Elena nodded. She remembered the look on Damon's face when he saw the ring on Elena's hand. Even today, she couldn't escape the memory of the shadow of sadness in those blue eyes.

"What did he say?"

"I was happy for my brother." Elena jumped in surprise. She hadn't realized Damon had joined him. "He'd made an excellent choice."

"Did you ever wonder if you married the wrong one first?" Claire was beyond persistent as she looked up at Damon.

"Never." Elena didn't hesitate in the slightest as she wrapped her arm around her daughter. "Because then I wouldn't have you."

* * *

"She really put you through the wringer up there." Damon stood in the middle of the kitchen and pulled Elena to him. He felt the tension in her shoulders as he held her against his chest.

"I should have been expecting it." She sighed. "She kept staring at the gravestone through the whole funeral. Of all the places in the cemetery, why there?" She rolled her eyes.

"She's been asking a lot of questions lately." Claire was growing up, much to his chagrin. She'd noticed the fact she was the only family member with light hair and green eyes years ago, but the news of the baby seemed to only reinforce the fact that Damon wasn't truly her dad. He'd been fielding questions about Stefan almost every night now. It was only a matter of time before she finally broke down and talked with Elena.

Damon stroked her hair. "But I still wish she'd picked a different day. How are you holding up? I know you didn't sleep well last night."

"If I can just get rid of this headache, I'll be fine." She pulled away and reached for the bottle of Tylenol.

"Why don't you go lay down while I fix dinner?" Damon gently turned her back to face him. He cupped her face in his hands and looked at her. He didn't like what he saw. He understood the bloodshot eyes, but the deep circles bothered him. He'd noticed her rubbing her hands earlier in the day and now her rings were suspiciously absent.

"No, if I sleep now, I won't sleep tonight."

"If you won't sleep, at least go sit down and rest for a while. You were on your feet the whole service. Alaric, John, and Jeremy are going to come over tonight. I know they're wanting to talk about what we're going to do. It's going to be a long night."

* * *

John, Jeremy, Alaric, Damon, and Elena sat in the Salvatore living room. The true secret council, they sat scattered around the room and stared at each other.

"If we had an idea of why they're back, it might give us an edge." John took a sip of his coffee.

"This is Mystic Falls...that seems to be as good of a reason as any." Jeremy pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders.

Damon nodded in agreement. "Of course, we do know one thing." He waited for the attention of those in the room. "Whoever this is, they have to be wearing a daylight ring." He paused as the implication of that statement set in. "Not even Rose or Lexi had one of those."

"They have to know a Bennett witch." Alaric shifted in his chair.

"Or Katherine." Elena let out a long sigh. "Which doesn't really narrow it down."

"The only spell for the rings is still in Bonnie's grimoire. She still has it, right?" Jeremy turned to Elena.

"I think so. I'll call her tomorrow." Elena leaned forward and held her head in her hands.

"It's the only one that we know of, but let's be honest, there are other powerful witches out there. They might have found someone who wasn't a Bennett who knew the spell too." John spoke, from his spot next to the fireplace.

Everyone in the room jumped as a soft knock could be heard from the door. It was after ten o'clock - far too late for casual visitors. "I'll get it." Damon slowly stood and looked through the window next to the door. He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the front door a crack. "Jackson."

"What are you doing here?" Alaric asked as Damon let his son in the house.

"Mom told me this is where you'd gone." Something had changed in Jackson's expression. He was no longer sad. He was angry. "I want to know what's going on. Don't try to tell me it was a dog. A dog couldn't do this." He tore the bandage away from his neck. "And a dog couldn't send me flying into a tree." He motioned with his arm in the sling. "There's something else going on here, and I want in."

"Not a chance." Alaric stood and crossed his arms.

"You're not old enough." John agreed.

Jeremy looked back and forth at the two older men. "He's older than I was."

"Or I was." Elena softly added.

"It's not like you had much of a choice." Damon stood behind Elena and rubbed her shoulder.

"Stop talking around me. I know you're lying..to me...to everyone in the town. I heard you at the hospital." He stared accusingly at Damon and Alaric. "Do you really think I'd have let Quinn talk me into going into the woods if I'd have known something was really out there waiting for us."

"No, we don't." Alaric shook his head. If anything, his son was overly cautious. He knew he'd never have risked Quinn's safety - her life - if he'd realized there was truly a danger out there. Elena and Jeremy were right, they were deeply entrenched in the supernatural world embedded within Mystic Falls by the time they were Jackson's age. If he really thought about it, Kennedy is even older now than Jeremy was back then. Jenna was going to give him hell for what he was about to do. "Have a seat. You're going to want to be sitting down for this."

* * *

Elena turned her head and looked at the clock. Almost three. She was going to pay for this in the morning.

After Jackson's arrival at the house, it was after one when they'd finally been able to go to bed. The emotional impact of the day bearing down on her, she was exhausted; but she couldn't get comfortable. This little one seemed to only find one comfortable resting place tonight - squarely in the middle of her bladder. Damon had tossed and turned for an hour after they came to bed. His breathing had only recently become the deep, regular pattern she associated with his sleep. As something sharp poked into her ribs, she realized that sleep wasn't going to be coming any time soon. Instead of taking the chance of waking Damon, she cautiously pulled his hand off her belly before she slid out of bed and padded down the hall to her office. She had some edits due to Val next week - might as well try to work on them while the house was quiet.

As she slid back the cushioned office chair, she knew the edits weren't going to happen. She'd forgotten that she'd placed the family albums here after her conversation with Claire.

She stared at the stack warily. Some of them were old. She recognized her baby album at the bottom of the pile. As she ran her finger over the toffee-colored album on top, she realized she hadn't looked at some of these since her parents died.

Now was as good a time as any.

Picking up the first album, she placed it on the desk in front of her. It opened with a creak, and she laughed out loud at the first picture. She couldn't have been more than a year old. She stood next to a stroller as she wore a furry white bunny costume with a pink bow tie. A bright orange carrot strapped into the stroller seemed less than pleased to be part of the neighborhood Halloween parade. Jeremy's face was such a bright shade of red, he looked as if he were wearing face paint. His mouth was open wide in a silent scream. Somehow, she didn't think it was that silent when the picture was taken. She held her hand over her mouth so her laughter didn't wake anyone. Jeremy seriously needed to see that picture...or maybe Grayson did.

As she paged through the book, she remembered why her mother was in charge of the records for the Mystic Falls Historical Society. Each photo was meticulously documented - telling who was in the picture and when it was taken. She spun the chair around and looked at the box in her storage closet. With a hint of guilt, she knew that her mother wouldn't have approved of her method of record keeping.

She came to the end of that album and picked up the next. As she opened the red leather book, she flinched as the first photo tumbled into her lap. Picking it up, she sighed with relief. How did Emma's cheerleading picture get in here? She placed it to the side and turned her attention back to the first page in the album. Sadly, she realized the picture had fallen out at some point through the years.

Her eyes focused on her mother's neat writing.

_Elena - first day of cheerleading - Mystic Falls Recreational Center_

She stared at the words on the page before she reached for the picture she'd just set aside on her desk. Not wanting to believe what she was seeing, she blinked down at the picture.

Dark brown hair curled into bouncing pigtails.

Chocolate brown eyes with long lashes that rested against her cheek.

Caught mid-giggle, a single dimple was visible on her cheek.

Elena sprinted for the bathroom as reality took hold of her. She understood. She knew why the vampires were back, and it made her blood run cold. After she was certain nothing was left in her stomach, she slowly stood back up and walked to the office - mentally begging the picture to have changed.

But it hadn't.

With trembling fingers she took hold of the photo and made the journey to their bedroom.

"Damon." She shook his shoulder. "Damon." She flicked on the bedside lamp.

"Elena, what's wrong?" He sat up so quickly that he bumped his head on the headboard.

"I know why they're here." She let the picture flutter through her fingers and come to rest on the bed beside Damon.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's notes: I'm sorry that I've left a few of y'all confused. I really tried to leave enough hints - and a small flashback along the way (see the middle section of ch. 3 if you'd like a refresher).

Don't worry, we're picking up right where we left off. Remember, this story isn't canon-compliant. It's based off my earlier non-canon ideas about what the Sun and Moon Curse might actually do…so it differs from TVD.

This chapter has a MASSIVE section of flashbacks. I apologize for that. I'd planned to write "Into the Woods" (my take on what the werewolves' plan had been for Elena), but it actually came much too close to what they actually did to Caroline on the show. I decided not to fully develop that story, but scenes from "my" TVD world are vital to this chapter - hence the flashbacks. Please note that while I try to stay somewhat true to canon, I also take a different route here and there. Just like we do in TVD on tv, this chapter hinges on its flashbacks (placed in italics).

Warnings - character deaths, sensitive subject matter, adult content, language, violence

* * *

Damon shifted up onto one elbow as he leaned over to turn on the light. "Elena, what's wrong? What do you mean, you know why they're here?" He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on the picture his wife had dropped onto the bed. "And why am I looking at a picture of Emma? I saw this when the pictures came in last month."

Elena's voice shook even more than her hands. "That's not Emma." Tears pooled in her eyes, and Damon could hear her ragged breathing – the kind he used to hear when she was struggling to hold herself together but losing. "This is Emma." She presented him with a second picture.

He studied the differences between the two photographs, and the absolute lack of contrast was astounding, even to him. But the picture in his hand was of a little girl in a vivid red cheerleading uniform with white trim. The little girl smiling down from the picture Elena just removed from the dresser was in a solid red uniform with a smiling wolf embroidered on the front. The little girls were more similar than identical twins.

Dimple on the right cheek – check.

Tiny freckle next to the left eye – check.

Cow lick in the exact center of the forehead – check.

Slightly off-centered smile – check.

They weren't just similar. The two little girls were the same. Exactly. As in…they were the same person.

"It can't be." Damon's ears were ringing, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Bile rose in the back of his throat as he thought back to that night…the night he'd long-since tried to forget. The one he'd always thought had concluded a little too easily. The one he'd always suspected Stefan had lied to him about, and now he was looking at proof his suspicions had been right.

Damn. A string of profanities wanted to pour from his lips, but he was desperately trying to hold it together for Elena, because only one of them was allowed to fall apart at a time.

"You promised." Elena's face was a shade paler than white, settling somewhere near chalk. "I don't remember much about that night, but I remember making one thing abundantly clear. The curse stopped with me."

"I remember." Damon sat up and pulled her against him. "I promise. I remember."

* * *

_When he and Stefan decided it would be best if Stefan got Elena out of Mystic Falls until after the full moon had passed, they'd never dreamed that the wolves would have known about the lake house. No matter how strong their witch was, they couldn't use the doppleganger to end the curse if they couldn't find her. For once that November, they thought they'd been one step ahead of the wolves._

_They'd been wrong._

_Damn Tyler._

_One minute Elena was pacing uneasily in front of the cold fireplace in the cabin, and the next both brothers had woken up dazed, confused, and missing the woman they both loved. Not even the best locator spell had been able to find her. She was simply gone with each hour ticking away toward the full moon at the end of the week._

_Luka and his father said the spell demanded several days of preparation. He meant it. _

_The first taunting phone call Damon had received had been bad enough. Elena had been missing for two days by then. They'd scoured the woods, but they'd found no sign of her. _

_When Brady finally called to tell him that he'd expected to have to work a little harder to retrieve what was left of Elena, Damon had to fight against the urge to crush the phone in his hands. He could hear Elena arguing with Jules in the background of the call._

_That was before he realized how truly sadistic Brady was. Apparently wanting to make sure Damon paid for his treatment of Mason, he gave them six hours to bring the moonstone to him. Each passing hour brought another phone call. With each phone call, Brady made sure Damon understood one thing - he might not be able to kill Elena, but he could certainly make her wish she was dead._

_The witches might be preparing to break the werewolf curse, but the werewolves were adding torture to the plan._

_They found Tyler after the fifth phone call. Before they tugged him into the alley, he was sitting in the Mystic Grill as if nothing was wrong. As they stood in the alley behind the Mystic Grill, Damon put the next call on speaker and watched as the color drained out of Tyler's face. With each bone-chilling shriek from the speaker, Alaric looked more and more likely capable of murdering one of his students._

"_Tyler, listen to her." Caroline stood inches from Tyler. "Elena's your friend."_

"_No." Tyler tried to back away, but he was pinned against the brick wall and surrounded by three vampires fighting for control. _

"_Beg." Brady's voice had an almost-lethal edge._

"_No." Elena's words were clipped._

_The sounds of a struggle echoed into the night. A scream. Glass broke. A soft moan could only be heard by those with supernatural ears._

"_Beg," Brady commanded again._

_This time, Elena's reply almost broke all of them. "Please. Please, just kill me."_

_Damon had his hand around Tyler's throat before he even knew what he was doing. Stefan didn't even try to restrain him. Bonnie stood in the distance at the end of the street, a tear fell from her cheek. _

_Tyler struggled for breath as he looked at Caroline from the corners of his eyes. "They said they were just going to use her to get them to bring Brady the moonstone. They said they wouldn't hurt her."_

"_They. Lied." Damon whispered into Tyler's ear._

"_No. They promised."_

"_Where are they?" Damon lifted Tyler's feet off the ground._

"_I don't know." Tyler thrashed around. "Really." He tugged desperately at Damon's arm. "I can tell you where they were before...they might still be around there."_

"_Lead the way." _

_They piled into Caroline's car with Tyler wedged between the brothers in the back seat. The next few minutes might as well have been hours as they bumped over back roads on the edge of Mystic Falls. Just as everyone in the car had started to wonder if Tyler was leading them on a wild goose chase, they arrived at an abandoned camp ground on the outskirts of the quarry. _

"_Over there." He pointed to an RV at the edge of the clearing. Caroline parked and they all piled out, but there was no sign of any of the wolves or Elena. _

_They scoured the area for the rest of the next hour. When Brady called next, they didn't need the phone to hear Elena's screams. That was something the wolves hadn't counted on. They obviously hadn't planned to be betrayed by one of their own. _

_The brothers left Bonnie standing in a clearing while Caroline stood guard over Tyler as they sped through the tangle of underbrush and found them in an area they'd missed in their earlier search. With each footstep, Elena's screams became shriller. No one was having to ask her to beg for mercy. Damon wasn't sure she was capable of forming words by the end._

_Elena gave one final, almost inhuman scream. And then she was quiet. Totally quiet. No tears. No cries. No ragged breathing._

_Damon and Stefan burst into the clearing just as Brady was hunched over Elena's still form. He chuckled as he stroked her cheek._

_That was all it took._

_Jules, Brady, and their friends were no match for the angry vampires. Damon reached Elena first. Her clothes were bloodied and torn. Her jacket and shirt were missing, and she only had her camisole to protect her against the chill of the ground. Her breathing came in halting gasps. He didn't want to stop to decide if her arms were bruised or simply covered by mud. _

_Whether or not the werewolves intended to kill her before the height of the full moon, she would have been dead before the next phone call ended._

_Damon threw his jacket around her and tore open his arm and pressed it against her lips. She didn't even have enough strength to fight. His blood gurgled at the back of her throat as she tried to swallow. Vampire blood had never worked well on her, but right now they needed all the help they could get._

_No one was prepared for what awaited them at the boardinghouse. Luka and Lucy sat in the living room, clearly wanting to talk._

_Lucy began to speak without any preamble. "We can lift the doppleganger curse. By doing so, we'll keep the curse over the werewolves from lifting."'_

"_It's too late." Elena's eyes were unfocused as she shook her head from her place behind the couch. It was only then that those in the room noticed the cuts across her palms that could only have come from a blade. "Their witch already did the spell. It'll be over by midnight."_

"_I think she needs to sit down." Caroline caught Elena as she teetered unsteadily on her feet. _

_Once everyone was seated in the room, Bonnie gave a steely look at her friend. "Elena, we can do it. We can lift the curse. Luka's dad had the original grimoire. He found it. We just have to reverse it. You'll be alright, even if they already did the spell." _

_That was one thing none of them had counted on. The witches had been certain that the werewolves would only be able to do the spell at midnight. If Elena was right, and her physical condition hinted she was, then she had mere hours to live._

"_Are you sure that will work?" Stefan leaned forward on his elbows - worry etched on his face. The clock marched on too quickly toward midnight._

_Lucy stilled him with a look as she resumed her study of the apparently intricate spell. The only sound in the room was breathing. _

_Elena sat frozen on the couch. For now, she was content to let the others in the room debate their next move. The full moon was almost here._

_She was too quiet. Damon could tell she was simply humoring them. In her mind, she was already dead. As usual, his blood had done little to heal her. She was more coherent, but her cuts still oozed and none of the bruising had cleared. More than one impression of a hand was starkly visible against her pale skin._

_He should have killed all the wolves when he'd had the chance, but he's been…occupied at the time._

_Damon realized she was still trembling, and he reached back to wrap his arm around her shoulders - moderately surprised when she leaned into him and didn't pull away._

"_It should work." Lucy sat back and studied the anxious faces around her. "If we lift the doppleganger curse, their spell will break. She'll be alright."_

_Bonnie tearfully nodded in agreement. "We can take the curse away, Elena."_

"_What does that mean? You're saying you can take the curse away..." Elena's words drifted into nothingness._

"_You won't be the doppleganger anymore." Luka gave Elena a hesitant smile. "You won't be going back on your promise to Elijah to stay in Mystic Falls. He won't hurt Jeremy or Alaric or anyone else you care about. And you'll be safe. Since you won't be the doppleganger, you can't be used to break the curse."_

"_It can't really be that simple." Damon's eyes showed the intensity of his suspicion._

"_Actually, it can." Lucy sat back on the couch. "We remove the curse from Elena, and the vampires and werewolves will just have to wait for the next chance to break the curse." _

"_But what happens then? No more dopplegangers?" Elena asked. The words "lift the curse" had finally penetrated Elena's thoughts._

"_No, reversing this spell will just lift the curse from you. Ending the curse completely is different. We can't upset the balance of nature. At some point, there will be another one." Lucy reached out and took a drink of her water. "Whenever the next one comes along, the three of you can come protect the next Petrova doppleganger."_

"_Oh no." Damon shook his head. "That one will be on her own."_

"_We need to hurry." Luka looked out the window. The moon had almost reached its peak._

"_What do you need?" Stefan stood and waited for Luka's instructions. "Just tell us, and we'll get it."_

"_No." Elena's voice stilled all the movement in the room. "I won't do it. I won't make someone else live through this." She looked up and focused on Bonnie. She pushed herself to stand. "The curse stops here...with me. If you can't totally get rid of it, then I won't let you lift it."_

"_Elena, you have to let them do it." Stefan turned to her, desperation clear in his voice. "You're going to die."_

"_Elena, the moon will be full in less than an hour." Caroline's face didn't conceal her look of horror._

_With strength no one in the room thought she had, she stood and faced them. "I won't let them do it. The Curse. Stops. Here." She folded her arms in front of her for emphasis. "With me. No one else dies in my place."_

"_Elena, don't do this." Caroline's lip trembled as she looked at her friend. "Please, let them lift it. I don't want to lose you. Don't make me watch you die."_

"_Then you might want to leave." Elena's voice held no hint of irony. Her eyes pleaded with Caroline._

"_Why don't you study the spell a little longer?" Stefan suggested with a pointed look at Bonnie. "Maybe there's a way to do it."_

_For an instant, Bonnie looked confused. And then Stefan gave an almost imperceptible nod. Elena was focused on Caroline, and she didn't see it. But Damon did._

"_Sure. We'll look again." Bonnie nodded, turning her attention to the old book. "There's got to be a way. I know we can do it." _

"_I promise you. I'll make sure they lift it. No one else will ever have to go through this." Stefan hesitantly stepped closer to Elena. _

_Something about Stefan's movements spurred Luka into action. He had a knife and a stone bowl in his hand before Damon even realized what he was doing. "We're going to need some blood." He cringed, trying to find an uninjured place to cut. He failed._

"_No one else?" Elena tugged her arm away and waited for Bonnie's confirmation._

"_No one else." Bonnie repeated. "As soon as you're safe, we'll break the curse completely."_

_Caroline's phone rang from her pocket. She jumped up and left the room. "That was Tyler. The wolves are on the way."_

"_Elena?" Lucy leveled her eyes at the girl in the center of the room._

"_As long as you break the whole curse."_

"_We will, Elena. We will." Bonnie assured her friend._

"_Alright." Elena reached for the small vial Lucy held out and lifted it to her lips._

_Once set in motion, the curse removal actually happened remarkably quickly. The witches and warlock sat in a triangle around Elena inside a circle of candles. Elena stood while they softly chanted. When the lights began to flicker, and the water disappeared from the bowls they'd placed around the room, Elena's eyes rolled back in her head and she dropped to the ground._

"_Elena!" Bonnie shouted in horror as she jumped to her friend's side._

"_So?" Damon stared at Lucy._

"_It worked." Lucy gestured to Elena as she was now unconscious on the floor. "The curse is gone." Lucy stood brushing off her knees. "But she's likely to be out for quite a while."_

"_Why don't you take her upstairs?" Stefan looked at Damon. "I would do it but - "_

_Damon stared down at Elena. Her hair was still matted with dried blood and her clothes were stained as well. His brother had gained remarkable control over his bloodlust the past weeks, but they had no reason to test it. He knelt down and carefully lifted Elena from the ground as he carried her upstairs._

* * *

"She can't be. They broke the doppleganger curse." Damon stared at the picture, unwilling to believe what his eyes told him. "Stefan promised."

And then he understood.

Even then, he'd questioned the fact that Stefan wanted him to be the one to carry Elena. Stefan wanted Damon to be the one to tend to her. He wanted Damon to be the one who watched over her.

After she completely lost consciousness, he hadn't been able to leave her in the bloodstained clothes. As he'd been tending to her wounds, he could hear them talking downstairs. It sounded like they were chanting. While he was standing guard over the bloodied and half-dead woman he loved, he hadn't been listening to what they were saying.

Bonnie promised they'd lift the curse.

Stefan promised too.

Damon never asked if they'd really done it. Now, he knew that may have been one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made.

"Did they?" Elena's eyes swam with tears as she picked up Emma's picture. "I know they said they would, but I never asked." Her breathing became quicker. "Damon, what did I do? I didn't want them to lift the curse if it meant it was going to happen to someone else. And now…" Her whole body began to shake. "I never thought...not my own daughter...I can't let this… Oh God."

"Elena, we don't know anything right now." He held her so tightly he was afraid he might hurt her. "We'll call Bonnie. She can tell us." He knew he had to be strong for Elena, but as he looked at the pictures sitting side by side on the bed, he knew what the answer was going to be.

Stefan lied.

No matter what they promised Elena, the whispers when Damon was out of the room should have told him the answer. Stefan was desperate to save Elena that night. He would have done anything to get her to agree to lift the curse…to pass it along to someone else in Elena's family line. All Stefan wanted was to keep Elena safe from the curse that was rapidly sucking the life out of her remaining minutes on earth.

Stefan knew Elena wasn't going to agree to do it. She'd already said it, and used some of her last remaining strength to make the point.

If Damon hadn't been so caught up in counting each breath, in watching her struggle with each passing moment, in listening to the ever-fainter churning of her heart, he would have seen them. Everyone in the room must have been in on it. They must have all agreed at some point. In order to save Elena, they'd have done anything…said anything.

They never lifted the curse.

* * *

Elena paced the living room. They'd called Bonnie at 5 am - the earliest Elena could place a call in good conscience. Now almost two more hours had passed.

"Elena, if you won't sleep, at least sit down." Damon took hold of her shoulders and guided her to the couch. He sat next to her and pulled her down to rest her head on his arm.

She'd just begun to relax when she flinched and shifted in her seat.

"Someone awake?" He placed his hand atop her belly.

"And stretching." She rubbed her hand against her side, breathing a long sigh. Thudding footsteps echoed down the stairs behind them. "And, someone else is awake."

"Hey mom and dad!" Brayden's eyes widened in surprise. "Y'all are already up. Whoa. What's for breakfast?"

"That would be my cue." Damon stood and walked in to the kitchen. "Hey, Bud, why don't we go for something simple this morning? How's cereal?"

"Do we have Chocolate Puffs?" Brayden looked to the top of the pantry.

Damon shook his head. Against his better judgment, he nodded.

A blue car pulled into the driveway. "Bonnie's here." Elena stepped up to the window. "I'm going to go meet her on the porch." She pointed a finger at Brayden. "It'll be easier to talk out there."

"I'll bring you two some tea."

"Thanks." Elena took her place on the porch just as Bonnie mounted the first step.

"Why didn't I know about this?" Bonnie stared at Elena's stomach as she reached out to hug her friend.

"I told you."

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered this news. You didn't tell me. How far along are you?"

"Twenty-one weeks today." Elena answered, knowing she didn't look happy.

"Is this why I got a call at five in the morning? You wanted to trade morning sickness stories or something? I love you, Elena, but Kasen wasn't thrilled. I've just started being able to sleep without running for the bathroom."

"Sorry. No." Elena walked toward the wicker couch and took a seat. She pulled the photos out of her jacket pocket and placed them on the table in front of her. "I need to talk about this."

"Wow, Emma's gotten so big. I've got to visit more often."

"Bonnie." Elena interrupted. "That's not Emma." She pointed to the picture on the right.

"Of course it is." She leaned over and picked it up. "I mean, I know she has a twin, but that's definitely not Nathan."

"Bonnie, that's my picture."

"It can't be. You've gotten them mixed up. I know you were a cheerleader, but I'd recognize my goddaughter anywhere."

"Look at the back." Elena took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Bonnie, what haven't you told me?"

"No." Bonnie dropped the pictures as if they burned her fingers.

"Bonnie." Elena raised her voice. "Bonnie tell me the truth. What really happened that night?" She didn't need to explain. Bonnie knew what she was talking about.

"You don't know?" Bonnie didn't meet her eyes. "Stefan promised."

"He promised what?"

"He promised he'd tell you. Now I understand. I'd always wondered why…" Bonnie's voice trailed off as she stared at Elena's rounded belly. "I believed him when he said he'd told you."

* * *

_Stefan followed Bonnie, Lucy, and Luka out the front door. He pulled the heavy door closed behind them. "You're sure she's going to be alright?"_

"_She'll be fine." Lucy nodded as she exchanged concerned looks with Bonnie._

"_But Stefan..." Bonnie shook her head._

_Lucy held up a hand to stop Bonnie from speaking. "You should never have said we could break the curse, Stefan. Only one thing breaks the curse – the doppleganger sacrifice. We could lift it from Elena, but we can't end the cycle. There's going to be another one."_

"_Someday." Stefan cut her off. "And right now, Elena's safe."_

_Bonnie looked at him hesitantly. "That's not what she wanted."_

"_Were you really going to stand there and watch her die? You lied to her too." Stefan pointed up at the second story of the boardinghouse. "Because if we didn't lift the curse, that's what was going to happen. She was ready to die to protect the rest of us. Now she's safe."_

"_We should have told her." Bonnie's face was laden with guilt. "I just lied to my best friend."_

"_I will. I'll tell her. I promise." Stefan nodded to himself. "When the time is right, I'll make sure she knows."_

* * *

"Bonnie, I want you to answer my question, what did Stefan promise?" Elena's patience was far beyond wearing thin. If she wasn't so tired - and it wasn't so early - she would have been screaming at her friend by now.

"When he came for my help with Claire, he said he'd told you."

"Told me what?" But the look on Bonnie's face already clearly told Elena the answer.

"We couldn't end the doppleganger cycle." Bonnie's voice was barely louder than a whisper. "Lucy was right the first time. It's not possible. The witches demanded nature be balanced."

"But that wasn't part of the deal." Elena shook her head.

"I know. I'm so sorry." Bonnie flinched. "He was desperate to do whatever it took. He could tell you weren't going to agree to lift the curse."

"So he lied to me..." Her ears began to ring and the world appeared oddly distant. "And you did too."

"We just wanted to protect you."

"It doesn't change anything." The words came out in a desperate sob. Elena squinted her eyes tightly closed as she hesitated to ask the next question. "And Damon?"

"Damon didn't know. Stefan lied to him too."


	15. Chapter 15

Warnings: Mature rating, character deaths, sensitive subject matter, violence, language, adult content

* * *

Elena turned and looked through the front window. It appeared that sometime during her conversation with Bonnie, everyone else had woken up. If she leaned just right, she could see Brayden, Nathan, and Emma sitting around the breakfast table as Damon sat their orange juice in front of them. They could be an image out of a Norman Rockwell painting. A typical, happy family, complete with sleep-mussed hair and elbows on the table.

But they weren't typical.

The oldest sibling was conceived with help from a witch.

The others came into being after witches helped their father become human.

And the youngest was the newest in the line of dopplegangers – a place formerly occupied with her mother.

Elena's eyes threatened to spill over with tears when she began to ponder the danger hanging over all of them – not simply Emma. Because she knew from experience that when it came to dopplegangers, everyone who cared about her would soon be at risk.

Each face around the table was now in trouble…simply because she never asked one question…she'd never demanded the truth.

Just then, the little one she was carrying decide to give a violent kick. As she ran her hand over her stomach, she turned to Bonnie in dismay. "And you never thought about telling me? About making sure I knew?" The thought of the life she'd sentenced her daughter to sickened her. Staring at Emma with her sleep-tangled hair, her throat tightened. It was as if she'd unknowingly passed along a fatal disease. She leaned over and massaged her temples. "That's it, isn't it? You thought I knew."

"Like I said, Stefan promised he'd tell you. Once you had Claire, it didn't matter anymore." Bonnie's face was troubled.

"But why didn't you say something before I had her? You knew what Stefan was planning to do. You're the one who helped him." Elena didn't care that she was yelling, even when Damon came and closed the blinds to block the show from overly-eager eyes. "You knew about everything before I did."

"I didn't have a choice, Elena."

"Didn't you?" Elena accused.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I didn't. Really." Based on the look on Bonnie's face, Elena could tell they were about to enter into witch-rule territory, a subject that Bonnie generally preferred not to mention. "Elena, Stefan saved my life that night Damon tried to kill me. It's one of those witch things. Just like Lucy had to work for Katherine until Katherine released her. Stefan never released me. I couldn't say no if he asked me to do something."

Damn the witch rules. It wasn't the first time they'd royally messed up her life.

"You didn't answer me before." Elena leaned back in her chair and gave her friend a pointed look. "Did you honestly not know that he hadn't told me?"

"I wanted to believe he had." Bonnie toyed with her watch.

Turning her head, Elena narrowed her eyes and glared at her friend. "After all I went through... all _we_ went through... you actually thought I'd have a baby knowing that I'd pass the curse onto them or their children? You've known me for years. What kind of person do you think I am?" She jumped up off the couch and backed away from Bonnie. "Actually, don't answer that." The patio spun around her, and she blinked as she reached for the arm of the chair to steady herself.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie's eyes roamed Elena's face with concern.

"I'm fine. This morning sickness just won't end." Elena took a deep breath and slowly stood back up. She whispered, mostly to herself. "I've got to tell Damon." She winced and rubbed her head. "Umm...do you want some coffee or something before you go? I doubt you had time for breakfast before you came."

"No." Bonnie answered sadly. "I have to be in court by eight; but when you called, I knew it had to be important." For the first time, Elena noticed the business suit Bonnie was wearing. As she stood and gathered her bags at her feet, Bonnie reached out and patted her friend's arm. "Elena, I'm really sorry. If there's anything I can do to help Emma, just let me know."

Emma shook her head. "I think you've done enough for now."

Elena closed the front door behind her and froze with her hand still gripping the doorknob. Even in its currently-empty state, her stomach threatened to revolt, and her head pounded with the intensity of an oncoming freight train.

Worst of all, she was stuck. Literally. It was as if someone put glue on the floor at the door. She couldn't will her feet to move. Thankfully, her children were distracted at the moment. If they studied her too long, she knew the expression on her face would likely frighten them.

Nathan and Brayden were chasing each other around the table. Emma sat in the middle of the living room holding a tug rope with Molly and Missy fighting for control of the knots at the each end.

But not everyone in the house was distracted. At the sound of the door clicking closed, she had her husband's full attention. Damon stopped clearing the table and faced Elena. His eyes fixed on hers, and as he held her in the intensity of his gaze, no words were necessary. With one look at the pain evident on her face and he knew their worst fears were confirmed.

He stepped into the living room, herding Brayden and Nathan ahead of him. "Go upstairs and get dressed. Don't forget to brush your teeth. Your mom and I are going out back."

"But she just came in." Brayden whined at the unexpected interruption.

Without a word, Elena walked through the house and stepped through the back door. She didn't trust herself to speak until she was certain she wouldn't be overheard. She seriously needed to sit down. Dropping into the porch swing, she clutched the metal chain next to her seat. "We were right." She wasn't sure if she'd ever said three more difficult words.

"But how?"

"They didn't break the curse." She angrily pushed her hair behind her ears. "They knew they weren't going to be able to do it, but when I wouldn't agree to let them lift it, they told me what I needed to hear."

"Did Stefan know?" Damon's eyes said he already knew the answer.

Not fully trusting herself to speak, she simply nodded and tried to breathe. Realizing he needed more information, she swallowed thickly. "He told Bonnie not to tell me. In her defense, she apparently thought I knew. He said he'd tell me when the time was right." She paused. "Which never came."

"If I hadn't been so set on having a baby." Elena's words choked in her throat.

"Stop. Don't do this." Damon caught hold of her hand as the boys barreled through the back door, heading for the play yard that he and Ric built just a few months earlier. "You're not the one who did this. You've always been as much a victim of the curse as Emma is."

"But I could have stopped it."

"And then you wouldn't be here." His grip tightened on hers.

"Or…"

"I couldn't imagine life without them." He nodded at the boys, smiling as Emma flew through the back door in a pink fairy dress, complete with magic wand. "And I don't want to."

Elena sat on the porch swing as Damon absently rubbed her back. Nathan and Brayden raced up the climbing wall as Emma twirled around the swings. She danced back and forth before launching herself into the air and squealed with laughter as she jumped across the pile of wood chips.

"Careful, Em. I'm not in the mood to go to the hospital." Damon toed the ground and let the swing drift slowly. "I always wondered why Stefan asked me to take you upstairs." He wrinkled his forehead and leaned back in the seat. "He was always so protective of you...he never liked for me to be too close to you. Didn't trust me I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "He should have been the one to want take you upstairs. I thought he'd started to trust me more. Or maybe he just wasn't trusting himself around the blood...but he specifically asked me to do it. He wanted to talk to Bonnie without me being able to hear him." He shot up and the swing shook violently back and forth.

Silence fell between them.

* * *

"Claire's ready to come home." Damon looked down at his buzzing phone. After the confrontation between Claire and Elena the afternoon before, Damon had called Jenna and arranged for a sleepover.

Elena nodded. "I'll go get her."

"Oh no." Damon fiercely shook his head. "You are not allowed behind the wheel when you're upset. That should be on your driver's license somewhere."

"And why would I be upset?" Elena rubbed her hands across her face. "Because I just found out my daughter's the doppelganger? Because I passed the same curse that almost killed me onto her? I remember the way they tortured me that night. I still have the scars. I can't let Emma go through that." Elena's voice caught in her throat as fought against the tears that had become a too-present part of her life.

"We won't. I guarantee you. We won't." He was emphatic as he met her eyes. Elena was an innocent player in a game that had started far beyond her birth. He sat back down next to her and pulled her to his chest as she dissolved into tears. Claire would have to wait a few extra minutes.

Once he was certain Elena was at least functional enough to leave at home with the three youngest of their children, Damon made the drive over to the Saltzman house.

"Dad, you're really late." Claire looked over the edge of the bannister and glared at him.

"I called your Aunt Jenna. She knew I was going to be late. When you called, I was in the middle of something, took me a second to wrap it up. I need to talk to Uncle Alaric for a few minutes. You can go back in Madison's room for a while longer."

"Damon?" Alaric stepped out of his bedroom. "What's going on?"

"Not here." Damon pointed to the back door.

"This is one of _those_ kind of conversations."

Damon nodded grimly as he walked out the back door. He made his way to the far edge of the property and leaned against the fence. "We think we know why the vampires are here."

"And that is?"

"Emma." Damon didn't want to voice it - that made it real. He'd been strong when he was with Elena because he had to be, but he could no longer hide the fear he felt for his youngest daughter.

"What do you mean?" Alaric blinked at him in shock.

"They never broke the curse. That night. They promised, but he lied to Elena to get her to agree to lift it."

"You're talking about Stefan."

"My brother and his damn secrets." Damon picked up a rock, threw it, and watched it bounce against the tree. "I know why he did it. Hell, I was ready to yank off the necklace and compel her to agree. But why didn't he tell her after it was over? No, and even better, he went and got her pregnant without telling her it would activate the curse again. Now my daughter has a death sentence on her head."

Alaric let out a long breath. "And you're sure?"

"I'm as sure as I can be. You should see their pictures. Hell, even I can't tell them apart."

"As sure as _you_ can be, but there's probably someone else who is even more likely to know. Have you talked to John?"

"Not yet. Bonnie just told us the whole story this morning."

"Call John and Jeremy. Tell them we need to have a family meeting tonight. If you want, I'll call Liz too. She'd want to know about something like this." Alaric turned back and looked at the house where Jackson stood eyeing them suspiciously. "Jackson and I will be there about nine."

* * *

With relief, Damon collapsed into the deeply cushioned couch at the end of what might have been one of the longest days of his life. After he caught Elena taking her third pain killer in less than six hours, he'd taken a good look at her and sent her upstairs to bed. Whether or not she chose to sleep was her decision, but he strongly suspected her body would seize control once she stopped her furious cleaning. Since he hadn't heard a noise coming from her room over the past five hours, he thought his guess had been correct.

Now he simply had to wait.

John, Alaric, Jeremy and, despite Jenna's protests, Jackson were due in a few minutes. Liz had been visiting Caroline. She'd offered to drive home, but Ric told her their problem could wait. He wanted to answer the door before a knock at the door could disturb anyone upstairs.

Having a few moments to himself was a dangerous situation tonight. During the last few years of Stefan's life, he'd made peace with his brother. He wasn't certain they'd ever be as close as when they were boys, but they could depend on each other, and they trusted each other, at least he thought they did.

He reached for the album they'd given Elena for Christmas. Flipping it open, his eyes were immediately drawn to Emma - her gaze so intent on the flowers in her lap.

He knew that look.

He'd seen it in Elena's eyes when she was scribbling out a section of a manuscript. And Jenna had laughed when she couldn't get Emma's hair to curl. She'd teased Emma that her hair was just as difficult to curl as Elena's.

How could he have missed the similarities? She didn't even like pickles...

If he was honest with himself, he knew why. Because Stefan had never given him any reason to think otherwise. After everything they'd been through, everything they'd watched Elena go through, everything they'd been helpless to save her from, he couldn't understand why Stefan would have been willing to take the risk.

Even if the next doppelganger didn't arrive for 500 more years, she still would have been a distant part of Stefan.

But she wasn't.

In a cruel twist of fate, once again, his world had been rocked by a choice Stefan made.

As he looked into the photograph of those tiny chocolate brown eyes, he made up his mind. No one was going to get to her - even if it cost Damon everything - including his own life.

A car door slammed and pulled him from his thoughts. He reluctantly pushed himself out of his seat as he glanced at the clock.

Someone was early.

"I thought you weren't due here till nine." He opened the door.

"Actually, I didn't know you were expecting me." Katherine smiled coyly back at him.

Damon stepped back in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to save your daughter. Bonnie called Lucy. Lucy called me. Believe it or not, I actually do have a few friends." She drummed her fingernails on the doorframe. "Are you going to let me in?"

Damon narrowed his eyes and hesitated.

"Damon, you know I helped you protect Elena once. I'm not going to hurt your daughter. Let me in." She dropped the air of superiority. "Trust me. You need me."

Damon considered her for a moment. He backed away from the door and pulled it open. "Katherine, would you like to come in?"

She rolled her eyes at him as she used her once-familiar Southern accent. "Thank you for your kindness." Taking the seat he'd just abandoned, she looked up at him as he stood next to her. "So, you're human now." She studied him for a moment. "It suits you." She gave a puzzled smile as she caught sight of the pictures on the mantle. Standing back up, she stepped closer to examine them more carefully. "And you've been busy." She gave him a cat-like grin.

"Damon?" Elena hesitated at the top of the stairs. "What's she doing here?"

Katherine's eyes trailed up and down Elena's body. With a laugh, she looked at Damon out of the corner of her eyes. "You've been _very_ busy."

"I don't know yet. What are you doing up?" Damon took hold of Elena's hand as she walked the rest of the way into the room. After watching how much the stress of the day had taken a toll on her, he was hoping she'd sleep through the whole night, and he'd be able to present her some type of plan of action in the morning. But then he realized this was Elena he was talking about. She'd never been content to be left out of a plan.

"I heard you talking to someone." Sleep still seemed to be weighing heavy on her. "I came down to see who was here. "What is _she _doing here?"

"And it's a pleasure to see you again too, Elena." She picked up the framed family picture from the mantle. Her eyes narrowed in a mixture of suspicion and amusement. She ran her finger over the glass. "This one... Definitely not yours, Damon." She tapped a finger on Cassie's smiling face. "I'd know those eyes anywhere. She's Stefan's? That's a story I have to hear." She cast a cat-like glance at Elena. "You did end up with both of them...Isobel must be highly amused." She chuckled to herself. "You have a child with both Stefan and Damon. I've obviously been gone from Mystic Falls for too long."

"Not nearly long enough." Elena bristled.

"Take it easy." Katherine purred. "I'm here to help. I'm not the only vampire who knows about this one." Her perfectly-manicured fingernail pointed at Emma's face in the photograph.


End file.
